Magical Mystery
by Aubrey'Snape
Summary: The was is over and the Wizarding World is celebrating the fall of Voldemort; but not all is as it seems. Love, Danger, Sarcasm, and humor come together to tell a story of how two very different people can beat all the odds and find happiness in the dark.
1. Dead Walking

A/N: I do not own the characters you recognize or the parts borrowed from JKRowling and her Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I just borrow them and thrust them together with the people I like together. This story is Hermione Granger/Severus Snape; if you don't like it then 'get outta here'. It will have swearing, explicit sexual encounters, snark, sass, sarcasm, and of course our favorite couple.

_Italics – _indicate thoughts

Hermione Granger didn't consider herself a particularly beautiful girl; she had brown colored hair that fell in waves to just above her back. As a child those curls had stuck out from her head like she'd been struck by lightning. Her face had lost its chubbiness leaving behind a pointed face; her eyes were amber with flecks of light gold. She had a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks that darkened in the summer. She had filled out over the summer and now sported a nice perky set of breasts with a slim waist and flat toned stomach.

Hermione looked at herself in the mirror admiring herself from different angles. She was 18 now, or 20 if you counted the time added by her adventurous third year. She'd spent the last year running across the country with her best friends Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. Voldemort had been defeated finally and the world breathed a sigh of relief as his terrifying reign came to an end. There are been so many losses though; her Professor Severus Snape had died in front of her killed by a great big snake. She looked around the room she'd been staying in over the summer and was preparing to go back to Hogwarts to finish up her last year. Ron and Harry teased her about this saying that she didn't need it; but she did, for herself, she did. She and Ron had spent the summer arguing and bickering until they finally, mutually, called it quits. She sighed as she turned to shrink all of her belongings into her pocket and walked over to the door to leave. She looked back once before opening the door; but instead of walking out onto the landing she walked smack dab into a hard warm body dressed in black. The impact made her trip backwards and make an ungraceful decent to the floor.

"Buggering hell, why don't you watch where the hell you're-" Hermione began angrily.

"You've always had such a way with words Miss Granger," A familiar voice replied.

Hermione froze and her eyes traveled up the body before coming to rest on the face and eyes of Severus Snape. Without another word she screamed at the top of her lungs and scrambled to her feet.

"Miss Granger, SHUT UP!" Roared her Professor, Hermione quickly snapped her mouth shut but drew her wand at him.

"Who are you? I saw Severus Snape die in front of my eyes; explain NOW before I curse you so hard you won't think straight for a year." Hermione said as she took on a defensive stance that had come from dueling so much over the last 6 years.

"Miss Granger, I will thank you to lower your wand right this instant. I will explain everything to you once we return to Hogwarts and speak with Dumbledore." Severus looked at the girl before him with a mixture of exasperation and annoyance.

"Like hell you will; I'm not going anywhere you cowardly, lowlife. How dare you impersonate a dead man, have you respect for the dead?" Hermione shrieked, she couldn't believe someone would be so cruel.

"DO NOT CALL ME A COWARD!" Severus yelled at Hermione taking a step towards her.

Hermione's eyes widened for a moment, realizing that only one person would have reacted to being called a coward that way. She looked at her professor for a minute before feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

"Pro—Professor," Hermione barely got out before she crumpled to the floor with tears in her eyes. She felt Snape's arms come around her before she hit the ground and she looked up into his black eyes and whispered, "I thought you were dead, I saw-I saw you die." She went slack in his arms and he realized that she had fainted.

Severus rolled his eyes but gently picked the girl up and brought her against his chest. He prepared to disapparate to Hogwarts but was confused by the look that had been in the girl's eyes before she fainted. It had been a look of both confusion and relief. He looked down at the girl in his arms and disappeared.

A/N: Slow start but that's alright. Reviews.


	2. Apprenticeship

A/N: Wow! A lot of you guys added me to your favorite author/favorite story. Seriously, thank you. You're all amazing, wonderful, beautiful people. I don't own these characters and I'm not making anything.

Severus walked into the Headmaster's office carrying Hermione and was surprised that she didn't weigh as much as he thought she would. '_I wonder if she's eating well,' _Severus thought to himself.

"Was it really necessary to knock her unconscious Severus?" Minvera McGonagall asked looking exasperated at him. She had her hair pulled back into her customary tight bun and her glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.

"I did nothing of the sort, Minerva. She fainted upon my appearance at her door." Severus sneered; setting the girl down on one of the chairs and waving his wand silently saying 'Enervate'.

Hermione blinked her eyes a few times to clear her eyes and noticed she was in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She looked around at the familiar office then saw her Head of House and mentor; she bolted out of her chair and over to the woman giving her a hug. Since she had erased her parents memories giving them a new life and identity, Minerva McGonagall had become very much like her mother figure. She loved the woman dearly and knew that if she was ever in trouble the older woman would help her.

Minerva caught the girl in her arms and hugged her tightly to her chest; she normally was not big on affection but this young woman had taken up a room in her heart.

"How are you Hermione," Minerva asked quietly.

"I'm- I've been better Professor; it hasn't been- easy." Hermione admitted feeling for the first time since two years ago that she was safe and free from harm.

"Can we get on with this or am I forced to watch more nauseating welcomes," Severus' voice cut through the warmth of the office.

Hermione flinched at his tone but bristled immediately turning on him and saying, "I don't know if you remember Professor, but Voldemort is dead so being a world class bastard isn't necessary. Do simmer down and be quiet." Severus and Minerva looked at her in shock at her outburst but a chuckling behind them broke the silence. Hermione looked around at the voice and saw that the chuckle came from Albus Dumbledore's portrait.

"My Miss Granger, we've certainly come into our bristle's haven't we," Dumbledore said with twinkling blue eyes.

Hermione blushed and said in a quieter voice, "Hello Professor Dumbledore, how are you?"

"Oh dear please don't call me 'professor'; I quite enjoy my name," Albus said smiling at her.

"Okay," Hermione remembered why she had fainted and rounded on the black haired man standing behind her. "How are you alive sir, I saw you die."

"Obviously not Miss Granger or else I wouldn't be standing here," Severus smirked at the anger that flashed in the girl's eyes.

"How stupid of me to be sad that you died, I must have been forgetting what an arse you can be," Hermione said in a simpering voice that made Severus blood boil with irritation.

"You little-" Severus began but was cut off by Minvera's voice.

"I am so glad to see you two getting along so well because you will be spending quite some time together," a stunned silence met her words as the two people standing before her gaped at her with similar expressions of outrage and shock.

"And why, may I ask, is that," Severus asked recovering first.

"Miss Granger here is going to be your Potion's apprentice Severus."

"Oh no, I don't take apprentices Minerva. I refuse to accept Gryffindor's know-it-all as an apprentice," Severus said not believing the injustice of the world.

Hermione felt hurt at his words but covered it up quickly with anger, "Oh yes because the 'know-it-all' can't wait to be stuck with the git of the dungeons all damned day."

Severus whirled on her and stalked towards her, "What did you call me Miss Granger?"

"Oh, is your old age affecting your hearing? I called you a git of the dungeons." Hermione said standing her ground. It was hard to be afraid of Severus Snape after you've been under Bellatrix Lestrange as she cuts into your body or looked at Voldemort for what you're sure will be the last time.

Severus snarled and opened his mouth to send her a scathing retort when the portrait of Albus interrupted.

"You have to do it my boy, or else the Ministry will step in a pick someone for you," he said calmly.

"I'd rather be stuck with Longbottom than Minerva's golden girl," Severus snarked at the portrait.

Hermione felt her eyes tear up at those words and looked into the eyes of her professor before saying in a slightly wavering voice, "I wish you'd been killed by that snake Snape, because whatever soul you had before obviously was killed as soon as Voldemort was." She watched his face pale at her words then turned to her mentor and the portrait; "I have better things to do with my summer than listen to a selfish brat rage about the indignities of life. You may find me at Grimauld place it you have need of me." Before anyone could say anything else she marched over to the fireplace, threw some floo powder into the fir, and yelled "Grimauld Place" before disappearing.

Minerva rounded on the man before her and snapped, "Oh well done Severus."

"It's not my fault she's a child and acts like one," Severus snarled at the woman before him.

"You are the only one acting like a child Severus; she was handling herself like an adult. You would do well to remember that she is not the eleven year old brat you are so stubbornly portraying her as. She has gone through more in the last year and the last 6 years than most people do in a lifetime. Now, you are going to take her as you apprentice and if you don't find some humanity inside you somewhere I will promptly find it for you. Understood?"

Severus hunched his shoulders under the gaze and words of the woman who had been a mothering figure for at least 15 years. "Fine, I'll do it but don't expect me to be happy about it."

"Severus Snape, happy? Why I'd probably die of shock." Minerva snapped at him. "Now, you are to follow her and apologize for you words because if you hadn't noticed, you hurt her."

Severus glowered at her for a minute before following Hermione's actions and disappearing into the fire.

"What are we going to do Severus? Are you sure this plan is going to work, they hate each other?" Minerva said looking up at the portrait of Albus.

"Oh yes my dear, we're off to a wonderful start." The portrait replied with a twinkle in his eye.

Severus stepped out of the fire and brushed the soot off his robes. He was standing in the kitchen of the house Sirius Black had owned only it was cleaner and in much better order. Harry had been staying there since Voldemort's downfall when he wasn't at the Burrow and it was considerably in better condition than it had been previously. Harry was sitting at the table and looked up when he floo'd in; he rolled his eyes and pointed towards the hall. Severus nodded at the boy before walking out of the room and into the hallway. Harry had been informed of Severus' arrival first because he was in need of a place to recover and rest; they had reached an unspoken agreement about the memories Severus had given him. They had, for the most part, put aside their differences about each other and had reached a sort of friendship. They weren't the best of friends, never would be, but Harry now hated Severus less and Severus viewed him as less of a bother. Severus walked up the hall towards the bedroom he knew was Hermione's and knocked. A voice from the inside said, "Go away Harry, I don't want to hear what you've got to say."

Severus turned the knob and stepped into the room but froze when his eyes landed on a very much undressed Hermione Granger. He couldn't look away from her form; her back was to him and was stark naked. She had petite shoulders that dipped down into a slim waist, her butt was nice and firm and her legs were muscular and shapely. She had two dimples on her back just above where her hips were and they were accentuated by the indent in her back that ended just above her butt crack. He was confused by the scars that littered her back but he didn't get a closer look because she turned and realized he wasn't Harry.

Hermione turned and saw Snape standing there staring at her naked form in a mixture of confusion and amazement. She shrieked and grabbed the bed sheet that was sitting on the bed next to her; she wrapped it tightly around herself.

"What the bloody hell are you doing in here Snape," Hermione asked feeling her face flush with both embarrassment and anger.

"I came to- to apologize for my words earlier," Severus said trying to rid his brain of the images of her naked form. '_Well she certainly isn't eleven anymore'_ he thought with irony.

"Apology not accepted, now go away," Hermione said striding past him towards her wardrobe. She felt him grab her arm and she whirled on him prepared to snap at him but stopped when she saw the expression on his face. He gently turned her back around and yanked the sheet away from her back ignoring her shriek. His eyes looked over her back and saw that the scars there formed words like mudblood, slut, whore, and other horrible words.

"Who did this," He asked in a quietly dangerous voice.

Hermione felt tears rush to her eyes and bowed her head in shame. "Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonine Dolohov, and another woman I don't remember. They said that I deserved it because I was no better than an animal."

He heard the shame in her voice and anger coursed through his body his hand unconsciously tightened on her arm. Hermione felt his hand clench painfully on her arm and had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. He finally let go of her and watched as she rushed forward to her wardrobe; she rummaged around for some clothes.

"Why weren't they healed," Severus asked in the same quiet voice he had used before.

Hermione dropped the sheet and pulled on a pair on knickers and bra before answering. "Madame Pomfrey tried once I returned to Hogwarts, but by then they had already healed almost completely and they were done with a cursed knife." She turned around to face him feeling a tiny bit better now that her more intimate parts were covered.

He looked up at her and saw that she had more scars on the front of her body. He motioned for her to walk forward so he could see them and saw her look at him warily before approaching him. He looked over her body at the various marks covering her body.

"How did this one happen," He asked tracing a scar that ran from the center of her chest down to her side and around to her back.

"The Department of Mysteries," Hermione answered quietly, feeling goose bumps pop up at his touch.

He looked at her stomach trying to ignore how tone it was and how soft her skin was, "This one?"

Hermione looked down at the star shaped scar that was just above her belly button, "Forbidden forest in 5th year."

It was then that Severus realized that not only had she grown into the body of a woman but she was a woman. She had gone through terrible things in the last three years and had almost as many marks on her body as he did. He had never stopped to think about how truly strong this girl, no woman, was until she was standing before him with her scars bared. Her maturity far outmatched those of her classmates her age and her intelligence was on the same level as his. He admitted to himself that if he was forced to take an apprentice that she, of course, would be the best person for it.

"I am sorry, Miss Granger," He said looking at her in the eyes.

Hermione felt tears well in her eyes again and nodded her head slowly. She had never felt so ashamed of her body and of the words that were marked there. She knew no man would ever want her and the disgusted look in her professor's eyes confirmed her thoughts. She moved away from him to pull on the rest of her clothes, she wrapped her arms around herself and avoided his gaze.

They looked towards the door when Harry stepped through and looked between them then said, "Ron is downstairs 'Mione, Molly wants to know if you're having dinner at the Burrow." Hermione nodded at Harry and as he walked back out of the room she walked over to her bed to grab her wand. She was headed out of the door when Snape's voice called her back, "I'll see you at school Miss Granger." She looked at him for a minute before leaving without saying another word.

Severus knew that the words he had said in the headmaster's office hadn't been forgotten and he would probably regret it later; but seeing that there was someone else as wounded and broken as he made him feel a bit better.

A/N: Reviews are lovely my dears and they keep me writing.


	3. Returning Again

A/N: Sorry for the delay in writing; I've been busy planning for the trip my son and I are taking to Tennessee. I don't own anything you recognize and I'm not making any money from this hobby.

The next few weeks passed quickly for Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hermione hadn't seen Professor Snape since the day in her bedroom at Grimauld place which only confirmed her suspicions about her body disgusting all men. Harry had seen her face when she walked downstairs but hadn't said anything; she had changed so much since the war that she almost seemed like a stranger. She had been his strength and by his side through the hunt for horcruxes even when Ron walked away. He had seen her at her worst and also at her best when she fought the Death Eaters. He had lost so many people but the one person he thought that he couldn't stand to lose was her. Ron had noticed the change in her as well but didn't seem as bothered by it. They didn't work out with dating and the awkwardness that was left in the place of the relationship wasn't something they were used to yet. Harry tried to bridge the gap that was left between the two but had only ended up in an argument with Ron and Hermione not speaking to him. He just hoped that things would go back to normal soon because although he knew it would take a while to get back to 'normal'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione awoke on the morning of September 1st and decided that this year was going to be different. She had spent the last year fighting for her life and struggling to stay alive; which had taught her that there is life outside of studies. She was going to lighten up and enjoying her last year at Hogwarts more. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a snug fighting t-shirt then walked down into the kitchen to prepare to floo to the Burrow she could go to the train station with Ginny. She and Ginny had gotten closer over the last few weeks since her and Harry got together regardless of the failure of her relationship with Ron. They considered each other sister even though there was no relation; it had been Hermione who had suggested Ginny telling Harry that she wanted to be with him regardless of the crap he did. They had been dating for a week before Harry popped the question to Ginny but didn't seem to be in any rush to get married right away.

She stepped into the Burrow's kitchen and looked up when she heard, "Hello Hermione." Mrs. Weasley walked forward and gave her a big hug; she had been disappointed about not getting another daughter-in-law but she still viewed Hermione as another daughter.

"Hey Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said returning her hug gratefully. One thing could be said about Molly Weasley's hugs and that was there was nothing as scary as her glare but nothing as comforting as her hug. "Is Ginny ready to go yet?"

"I think so, I think her and Harry are just talking for a minute arranging when they'll see each other," Mrs. Weasley let go of Hermione and looked into the girl's tired face noticing that the spark that had once been there had dulled lightly. She mentally shook her head but leaned forward to place a motherly kiss on the girl's forehead.

Hermione smiled and blinked back tears as she felt the older woman's loving embrace; it made her miss her own mother very much. She had found her parents and reversed the memory charm on them but they decided they wanted to stay in Australia to continue their lives that they'd been living. They didn't blame their daughter at all about removing their memory but rather understood the reasons behind it. It had been a long tearful visit once she had replaced all their memories.

She looked up when she heard Harry and Ginny's voices coming down the stairs and grinned when the redhead ran to her to embrace her.

"Hey Hermione," Ginny said happily. "Good summer?"

"Yeah, it was good. Ready to get back to school though and have something to do to fill my time," Hermione said quickly embracing Harry after Ginny. He returned the hug tightly before pulling away.

"Well I will try to visit at least every other weekend and at the very least once a month. Don't let anyone give you too many problems, Professor Snape included, and owls will be able to find me no matter where I am," Harry said looking between the two girls.

"Yes Harry," The two girls chorused and laughed. "We'd better get going Ginny, we've got 25 minutes before the train leaves." After the two bid each other goodbye and their stuff was ready to go they walked out onto the lawn. Hermione shrunk Ginny's trunks down then grasped the girls hand and disapparated; appearing again in a side alley by King's Cross Station. They walked through the barrier and smiled at the familiar train waiting. There were already a lot of people on the platform including the new students starting this year. They walked onto the train before returning their trunks to normal size and stowing them in a compartment. They both turned as a familiar drawl drifted towards them and saw Draco Malfoy walking towards them.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite girls," Draco said in a teasing voice. He had become a decent person since Voldemort's downfall and they had all struck up a friendship-like relationship.

"Oh look, they're letting ferrets into Hogwarts now," Hermione said nudging Ginny.

"Did we remember the flee shampoo," Ginny asked playfully.

"You two wound me," Draco said laughing as he sat down. "Are you ready for a new term as Head Girl Granger?"

"Yep just as long as you don't cause problems Malfoy," Hermione said sitting on the seat opposite him. To a passerby they would've appeared to be the same hateful enemies they had always been; but as Ginny shut the door and they relaxed it was a much calmer atmosphere.

"How was your summer Draco," Ginny asked taking the seat next to Hermione.

"It was okay; mom mostly cried and dad is the same though less of a prat," Draco said to the two girls. His father and mother had wanted to leave Voldemort's circle before his downfall but you don't walk away from his and live. Once the wizard had kicked the bucket however, they had fled the Hogwarts grounds.

"You mother is still really upset," Hermione asked gently. Mrs. Weasley had killed the woman's sister after Bellatrix Lestrange had been attacking Ginny in the final battle.

"I think she's more upset that she'd been exiled from the Wizarding world than about Bella's death. She hoped things would get better after they gave their testimonies but it was no-go." Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa Malfoy all bore the Dark Mark which made them one of the 'enemies.' Mr. Weasley had spoken on their behalf in front of the Wizegamot which was the only reason they weren't sitting in Azkaban. Molly hadn't been overly proud of the fact that she killed Bellatrix but did not regret protecting her only daughter.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said quietly looking down at her hands. She understood that Draco and the rest of the Malfoy's should hate her but it surprised her when she received an owl from them stating that they were glad she was okay. She had suffered from a cut on her chest caused by the older woman that had taken almost 3 weeks to heal but she turned out alright in the end.

"We don't blame you Ginny, my mother said she'd have done the same thing if it were me," Draco said leaning forward and touching the younger girl's hands. He leaned back and looked out the window as the train pulled away from the station. It was a relatively quiet trip, only talking to comment on the time or their new classes. Hermione and Draco had to leave periodically to check the train and fulfill their head duties. It was dark when they arrived at Hogwarts and as they exited the train they looked towards the castle. They could only see the tops of the towers but they were glad to even see those; there was so much damage to the castle that it had taken over a thousand wands to repair it. Draco and Hermione herded the younger students to the carriages and saw that more and more students were taken aback by the creatures no pulling the carriages. Thestrals could only be seen by those that had seen death; it was a sad reminder that so much death had happened and been seen over the last year. Over the crowd they heard Hagrid's voice yelling, "Firs' years this way, firs' years this way." After they assured that all the students were ready to go the two crawled into the last carriage and waited for it to depart.

Hermione leaned forward to look out the window as they got closer to the castle and felt a familiar sense of calm come over her. When the carriages stopped again she climbed out and waited for Draco to follow her so they could get the students into the hall. Together they walked into the Entrance hall then into the Great Hall. She took a look around and breathed in a deep breath thinking to herself, 'This is going to be a good year.'

A/N: Maybe a few more chapters for today but then I'm done for today. Reviews are wonderful my dears.


	4. New Attractions

A/N: Don't own anything and I'm not making any money. This will eventually be a SS/HG pairing but I don't like stories where they just jump right into bed with each other. This is a story not a PWP so please be patient. There will be lots of things that lead our couple to their interactions and there might be some DM/HG love in there too but this is mainly a SS/HG love story. Thank you.

Severus Snape looked out over the Great Hall and almost sighed in exasperation; he had survived the Dark Lord's blasted snake only to die from boredom. _'Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic,' _he thought to himself bitterly. He looked around the hall surveying the students both new and those returning; his eyes fell on a brunette and blonde entering the hall talking to each other with a redhead. His godson Draco Malfoy was walking towards Gryffindor table with Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. The image of a naked Hermione Granger popped into his head before he could stop it and he sneered in disgust at his thoughts.

Hermione looked towards the head table and her eyes fell on Professor Snape, he was staring right at her and the look of disgust on his face was enough to make her want to cry again. She blinked rapidly and sat down next to Ginny watching as Draco walked away. He had grown a few more inches over the summer and had built back the body weight he had lost. His hair was cropped short again and spiked up in the front; his face was fuller but nowhere near fat. His shoulders were broad and he walked with an easy grace that Hermione felt envious of. He was confident in himself and it showed well. Her attention was pulled away from Draco by Professor McGonagall's voice welcoming them.

"Hello to the old students returning, and welcome to the new ones joining us. Even though Voldemort is gone there will be more evils out in the world for us to fight again. The most important thing is to remember the friends we've lost, the ones still here, and the people who have made it possible for our world to be rid of that horror forever. When I call your name-" Hermione tuned her out at this point to glance again around the hall. She saw some of her old classmates that had returned for their last year and once again was saddened by the ones that had fallen at the hands of the Death Eaters. She caught Neville's eye and smiled then looked to Luna Lovegood next to him and gave a small wave. She looked up to the head table and observed the teachers sitting there. She saw Professor Snape watching over the hall and when his eyes landed again on her; she stared back at him. To her surprise he held her gaze without blinking or looking away; as she stared into his eyes she attempted to use her Legilimency skills she had picked up last year. She gently nudged against the wall of his mind and saw his eyes widen in shock but he still didn't break eye contact. She nudged harder against the wall and was pleased to see that he lowered his outer one so she could hear the thoughts at the front of his mind.

"**Where did you learn Occlumency, Miss Granger?" His voice said in her mind.**

"**Last year mostly, it caught my attention when Harry took lessons from you," Hermione answered not sure if she was doing it right.**

"**Do not attempt to get into my head again Miss Granger. You will be unhappy with the results," He said in a low voice. "Next time I will not hesitate to throw you out." **Hermione felt him gently shove her from his mind and she blinked feeling the start of a migraine starting. She nodded slightly at her professor before looking away to see that students were leaving the hall. She stood up and walked over to Draco to make sure all the students got to their respective houses. It was after midnight by the time she and Draco found themselves heading to the headmistress's office when they ran into Professor Snape.

"Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy, I've been instructed to show you to your quarters. You have the same entrance that goes into a small common room but you have your own dorms and bathrooms. You will need a single password for the main portrait and then another one for your respective dorm portraits. If you are needed by a student there are portraits in each common room that links to yours. The password for this portrait that will take you directly to the common room is preset and the portrait will tell you once you are in." Snape said this as he quickly walked them down the corridor. Hermione had to stop suddenly to keep from running into him. She looked past his shoulder to see a painting of a Unicorn; he looked at her and Draco waiting for them to say their password.

"Oh, um… Hermione?" Draco asked uncertainly.

Hermione thought for a moment before confidently saying, "un nouvel éclairage." The unicorn nodded its head and the painting swung inward to admit them. Draco and Snape were looking at her in wonder but it was Draco that spoke first.

"I didn't know you spoke French Granger," He said with a hint of a smirk.

Hermione shrugged and said in an offhand voice, "C'è di più a me che soddisfa l'occhio." With that she turned her back on the two men and climbed through the portrait hole.

Severus stared after the girl and was shocked at her ability to speak foreign languages. She was right, there certainly was more to her than met the eye. "Miss Granger, you are to come to see me tomorrow at 8 pm to talk about your apprenticeship." He heard her shout an "uhhuh" over her shoulder as she continued on her way into the room. Draco smirked at his godfather before following his friend through the hole and shut the door.

Hermione fell into bed that night more tired than she had been in a long time; as she drifted to sleep stroking Crookshank's fur her thoughts turned to the man sitting floor's below.

A/N: Reviews are wonderful and they tell me what you think.

un nouvel éclairage – A new light, in French

C'è di più a me che soddisfa l'occhio – There's more to me than meets the eye, in Italian.


	5. Potion Mistake

A/N: I don't own anything, it's not mine.

**Thank you to Morbid333 for pointing out that British people say 'mum' and not 'mom'. Thank you for all of those who have reviewed so far.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

A bright ray of sunlight woke Hermione the next morning and she had to blink several times before her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She saw that she had forgotten to close the curtain in front of her window so the dawn sun was streaming through it. She cast a charm to check the time and groaned when she saw that it was barely 6 am, classes didn't start until 9 and breakfast wasn't served until 7. She decided she'd get up and take a shower before getting the books she'd need today ready. At 6:45 she was dressed and ready to head to breakfast with Draco. She had smoothed her hair down; thankful that it was no longer the frizzy mess it had been in her childhood. It fell to the middle of her back and was wavy rather than tight curls. She applied a little bit of mascara that darkened and highlighted her eyelashes making her eyes look bigger. She smiled at Draco as he walked out of his room and she looked him over again. He was dressed in casual black pants with a dark blue shirt that emphasized this paleness. He had the arms rolled up to his elbow which showed that his forearms and biceps had become pretty muscular over the summer. His hair was spiked again but not like it had been the night before.

"Hey Hermione," He said in his deep drawl. She hadn't noticed that his voice was that low but guessed it must have been because he had just woken up.

"Hey, how'd you sleep," Hermione asked as she led the way out of their portrait hole and down the corridor.

"Eh, about as well as I always have," He said this with a yawn and they continued to the Great Hall in silence. They parted at the door to go to their different tables to wait for Professor McGonagall to pass out their class schedules. She received hers and had just looked down to study it when Ginny flopped down on the bench next to her.

"I hate waking up early. All summer I get to sleep in but now I have to get up early, my bed is way too lonely without Harry," Ginny said grabbing a piece of toast.

Hermione smirked and asked, "Do your parents know Harry sneaks in your room?"

Ginny flushed red and glared at her friend, "No and they won't know either, will they Hermione?"

"Know what," Hermione said turning her gaze back to her schedule. She had double potions on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday; DA on Monday and Thursday; Arithmacy on Tuesday and Friday; and History of magic on Wednesday. She saw that she had plenty of free time and decided to figure out a study pattern later. She had potions and Defense against the Dark Arts today but wasn't really looking forward to it much. She glanced up to the head table and saw Professor Snape taking his seat scowling. His scowl lessened slightly as he started sipping on what she guessed was coffee. As if he had felt her gaze on him his eyes flicked up to hers and held them. He stared at her for a minute before nodding his head in acknowledgement then dropped his gaze to his goblet. She smiled to herself at having discovered that he wasn't a morning person either, it was nice to have something in common with him, and it made him seem more human.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus entered the Great Hall a few minutes before 7 and was not in a very good mood. He had had a headache all night the night before and finally conceded to take some dreamless sleep around 3 am. He was again thankful for strong black coffee because without it he'd probably have ended up in Azkaban years ago from killing students. He'd felt eyes on his head and looked up to see Miss Granger staring on him so he held her gaze. He was actually surprised that he didn't feel the nudging against his mind that he had felt the night before. He had been beyond shocked that she knew Legilimency so well or at least well enough to know how to communicate in her min. His eyes swiveled over to the Slytherin table and fell on the blond headed boy that was staring at the girl across the hall. He glanced back over to the Gryffindor table to see that she was returning Draco's stare intensely. It almost looked like they were communicating across the hall and silently but before he could make any further theories about it Minerva's voice caught his attention.

"Severus. Severus!" Minerva said getting annoyed at his lack of attention.

"What," Severus snapped at her feeling agitated at having his morning coffee interrupted.

"Don't take that tone with me, I called you five times," The Scottish woman said to him.

"Ever think I was ignoring you for a reason Headmistress?"

"Oh pull your underwear out of a twist Severus," she said to him ignoring the coughing fit coming from Madame Hooch at the comment about his underwear. Severus scowled at her waiting for her to get to her point. "Have you talked to Miss Granger about her apprenticeship yet?"

"Not yet, she's coming to my office tonight at 8."

"Excellent, do try and be civil Severus. I know that it's difficult for you because you're so out of practice but attempt it won't you?" She smirked at him when he snarled in her direction reminding her of a lion.

Severus stood from the table and walked down the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor table feeling particularly put out by Minerva's request.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione finished her breakfast and stood to walk down to the dungeons for her potions lesson. She waited by the double doors for Draco to catch up with her so they could walk together. They walked in companionable silence through the halls coming to a stop in front of the classroom door with the other seventh years. The door swung open and they were beckoned inside with a curt "IN" from their professor. Hermione sat next to Draco and pulled out a piece of parchment in preparation for notes. Professor Snape started his usual lecture and Hermione found she was watching him more than normal. His robes floated behind him gently like he was walking outside on a windy day; he kept his arms crossed over his chest which wasn't hugely muscular but he looked well built. His hair was shoulder length and framed his face in a way that made him look slightly wild. He had purplish circles under his black eyes that made him appear to not have slept in months. His voice was a deep rich baritone that made Hermione's heart flutter oddly. '_He's kind of handsome_,' she thought to herself then mentally shook herself. Professor Snape is not handsome; he is evil, sarcastic, and he is disgusted by me. She hadn't realized that she'd been daydreaming and not paying attention until Draco's elbow found her ribs painfully.

"Ow! What - Oh, hello Professor," Hermione said staring up at the angry looking man in front of her.

"Miss Granger, would you care to tell me what was so interesting about your thoughts that you found it prudent to NOT PAY ATTENTION?" He hissed at her leaning onto her desk to bring his face closer to hers.

"Uh, no sir," Hermione mumbled.

"Very well, 15 points from Gryffindor and a detention tonight with me at 8 o'clock," Snape said.

"I already have to be down here, _sir_," Hermione snapped at him.

"Make it a week Miss Granger for your cheek."

"But that's unfair!" Hermione said loudly to him as he turned away.

"50 points Miss Granger, now _shut your mouth_," he said whirling back to face her.

"Make me," Hermione said under her breath but as he stiffened she realized that it wasn't quietly enough.

"Excuse me," he said in a voice that threatened danger. He watched as the girl visibly flushed before looking at him again in anger. He was taken aback for a moment by the steely determination in her eyes as she responded, "alright, you're excused."

The whole class had got deathly silent, you could have heard a feather hit the ground because it seemed like they'd even stopped breathing. They were looking at their furious faced Professor and their daring head girl.

"Everybody GET OUT," Severus roared looking at the girl sitting before him in furious rage. He heard the students pack their stuff and hurry out the door. Once the last student had left he waved his hand in the direction of his door and it slammed shut locking. "What is your problem Miss Granger?"

"I'm sick of your patronizing crap towards my house. You let the Slytherin's get away with murder and while that was necessary while Voldemort was around; he's not anymore. But that doesn't stop the great Severus Snape, no; you're still the same bastard you were before." Hermione said this as she stood so fast that her chair was knocked a few feet backwards. "Grow the hell up Snape or learn a new act because yours is getting old." The look on his face as she said this threatened danger but she was past caring. She was tired of his coldhearted exterior he felt the need to erect around himself.

"How dare you, I am your Professor!" He snarled at her taking a step towards her.

"You're also human, JUST LIKE ME, ACT LIKE IT." She screamed at him clenching her fists.

Severus was breathing hard from the strain of keeping his anger in check, her cheeks were flushed in her anger and she looked fierce. "You are a know-it-all little brat Miss Granger, and would do well to remember you are in a school where I am in authority over you."

She growled at his words and reached her arm back before sending it forward towards his face but an instant before it connected with his nose he grabbed her wrist in a steely grip. She winced slightly as he jerked her against his body roughly.

"I would not advise hitting me child, I am a man not some school boy," He hissed at her. His mind flashed back to her room at Grimauld place and he almost groaned out load at the memory. He looked into her eyes for a split second and saw not only anger there but desire as well. '_What the hell,' _Severus thought to himself.

Hermione's body was pressed against the entire length of his and desire flashed through her spiraling down to the spot between her legs. She looked into his eyes and felt as though they could swallow her whole. She abruptly stood on her tiptoes and reached a hand behind his hand forcing his head towards hers. She kissed his lips hard feeling the softness of his bottom lip before he shoved her away from him. He glared at her for a few minutes panting before he grabbed her arm again and pulled her against his chest; he brought his lips crashing down on hers for hard that she was sure that her lips would bruise. She flicked her tongue out hesitantly to run it across his lower lip and almost smiled when he opened his mouth to her letting his own tongue war with hers. Before Hermione would really begin to enjoy the kiss however she was once again shoved from him so hard she hit the desk behind her; she winced as the wood dug into her lower back.

"Get out," Snape said in a low voice, but when she didn't move or react he yelled, "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" She jerked away from him and gathered her stuff up before walking quickly out of the classroom and down the corridor. Once she rounded the corner however, she learned up against the wall before sliding down it to sit on the floor.

"Bloody hell," She said out loud to the corridor. "I just kissed Professor Snape."

A/N: Ohhhh those moments you have when you're staring into someone's eyes and all you can think is, kiss me, please kiss me, and then it happens and it's amazing. Ahh. Reviews let me know what you think.


	6. Author's Note

Hey guys! I'm in Tennessee right now visiting family so that's why no updates. I'll be back on Monday (18th) so only a little while longer for the wait. Thank you for your patience. What do you guys want to see in this story? Fighting? Angst? Let me know

Aubrey'Snape

xoxoxox


	7. Disasterous Detention

A/N: FINALLY an update. Whew. Back from Tennessee and soooo glad to be home let me tell you. I'm not making any money from this story nor do I own anything. Just my wild imagination.

Hermione didn't know how long she sat on the floor but when she finally stood up her butt was numb from sitting on it for so long. She headed towards the Great Hall hoping to get there in time to get something to eat but as she walked into the hall it was to see the tables empty of food and students filing out of the hall. She stomach gave a growl of protest as she resigned herself to head to her next class. Draco looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she sat next to him and began to get ready to take notes but she merely shook her head at him signaling silently that she didn't want to talk about it. He nodded his acknowledgment and turned towards the head of the class as their professor began their lesson. Hermione lost focus somewhere in the middle of the lecture and let her thoughts trail off into space. She peered at the boy, no man, next to her and was unsurprised to see that the attraction she had felt for him earlier had receded slightly. He was handsome, oh yes, no argument there but his jaw lacked the 3 o'clock shadow that HE had. His hair was too… blonde, not unappealingly so but she found she liked darker hair. Draco wore his hair short where Snape's was long, but Draco's was clean and shiny whereas Snape's looked greasy. Her thoughts were jerked from her comparison when she heard students moving; looking around she saw that her lesson was over. She quickly packed as Draco waited for her then walked with him towards the Entrance Hall.

"So what happened?" Draco asked, finally speaking when they were in the corridor.

"The same really, he berated me about my cheek and gave me detention," Hermione answered him offhandedly. The pair didn't notice the black figure that followed just behind them keeping to the shadows.

"I thought he was going to hex you."

"Me too," the pair walked out of the entrance hall and onto the grounds to enjoy their free period before dinner leaving the dark figure behind them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She kissed him. SHE kissed HIM. Well, he kissed her back but SHE KISSED HIM. Severus' head was spinning with the implications of what that meant. '_She's a student, an innocent_,' he thought to himself in disgust. '_But she's not so innocent_,' a little voice argued. '_She's been through more than you had when you were growing u_p.' Severus growled at the voice that sounded too much like Dumbledore's and stomped back to his dungeons to teach his next lesson. He was glad that the chit hadn't said anything about what had happened to his godson because if he had, the older man would never hear the end of it. He stormed into the room where his third year class was waiting and slammed the door shut and with it all the thoughts of the previous events.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione and Draco spent the better part of 3 hours outside by the lake and walking around the grounds. They walked over to the memorial that had been erected for those that had fallen during the second war. A few of the names stood out particularly painfully for her as they stood side-by-side.

**To the brave hero's that gave their life to make the world safer. **

**Lily Potter**

**James Potter**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Lupin**

**Remus Lupin**

**Fred Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

Hermione wordlessly conjured a bouquet of flowers and placed in on the memorial; there were over 250 names on the memorial but she knew there were more losses than just those on the marble. Her thoughts turned back to that fateful night when so much death had taken place. She had witnessed more death in that one night than she had in her entire life. She still had nightmares about the night often times alternating between Harry, Ron, or herself dying other times revisiting the scene of watching her Professor struggle for his life. She wondered how he had managed to survive and made a mental note to ask him tonight. She mentally groaned when she remembered the earlier scene and her detention. How was she going to face him now? Draco sniffed next to her and he quickly wiped his nose to keep her from seeing him cry not that she cared. They walked back to the castle in silence neither of them wanting to speak and when they entered the Great Hall they silently went their separate ways. Hermione looked up to the head table but didn't see the professor she was looking for; she felt a twinge of something she couldn't name. She jumped and squeaked when she heard, "miss granger" behind her. She whirled around bumping into the speaker as she did and had to step back. His spicy herbal smell assaulted her nostrils as she looked up into the dark eyes of her Professor. She realized how tall he was compared to her when she saw that the top of her head only came up to his shoulders. Shoulders that were broad enough to block anything behind him from her view.

"Pro—Professor," Hermione choked out trying not to notice how close he was standing. She took another small step back and breathed a sigh of relief when she could no longer smell his intoxicating scent.

He looked down at her and spoke in a smooth voice, "You have a detention tonight, Miss Granger, and do not be late." He didn't wait for her to respond before sweeping past him and up to the head table leaving an irate Hermione behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus walked away from the girl towards the head table trying to force his heart to slow. He hadn't planned to talk to her until detention and maybe not even then but when he walked up behind her he was suddenly unable to keep his mouth shut. He was mentally scolding himself for even touching her, a student, and innocent or not he had standards and Hermione Granger did not fit into them. His scowl deepened as he sat down to eat his dinner and surveyed the hall to see his godson and the girl who had been in his thoughts staring at each other again. They didn't seem to be blinking and when the boy nod almost invisibly he knew something was up. He decided that when she came to her detention he would get to the bottom of the mystery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione finished her dinner with a reluctant sigh and gathered her stuff to drop off at her dorm before heading down to detention. She shrugged off her student robes and pulled on an old pair of comfortable jeans along with a loose fitting t-shirt. If Snape was going to make her scrub anything she was darn well going to be comfortable while doing it. She headed back out into the common room and waved when Draco called "good luck" out his door. It wasn't until she felt the cold of the dungeons that she began to dread walking back into his classroom. Her mind started panicking and her heart sped up to a frightening pace. The way it was beating you'd have thought Voldemort himself was on her heels; when she knocked on the door she was nearly hyperventilating. When she heard the familiar "enter" from inside the classroom her head started to spin; she walked into the room as spots popped up in front of her eyes.

"Pro—Fess—Or." She managed to get out before breathing became in possible. She heard someone rush over to her muttering a string of cuss words that would have made her blush if she could breathe. She felt something hot being poured down her throat then long fingers massaged her throat to coax her into swallowing. As the liquid washed down her throat her head began to clear, her throat opened up, and she pulled in quick breathes of air. She clenched her fists around the soft fabric under her cheek and continued to gasp in air. It was minutes later that the scent of the person holding her reached her nose and sent fast messages to her brain. Once her mind started working again she yelped and shoved away from her professor pushing him back onto the floor. Unfortunately his foot had caught the back of her baggy shirt so when she tried to stand she was pulled back down with her elbow landing painfully in the man's crotch. She was horrified when he shoved her off with a pained grunt and then curled into a slight ball while he placed a hand over his privates. She rushed towards him to see if she could help when her foot caught a chair and she tripped, sending her again into the man who grunted again and growled "protego". She felt herself skid away from him against the wall and was held there by his spell, when he finally pulled himself to his full height she wanted to disappear into the wall behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus was trying to keep his temper in check as he stood in front of the girl sitting on his floor. He knew that it wasn't her fault that she was allergic to jasmine, it wasn't her fault that she freaked at being held by a stranger, it wasn't her fault she fell on him resulting in the throbbing going on in his testicles. None of that was her fault, what was her fault was her wanting to prove herself to every single goddamn person; it was her fault that she wanted his approval; it was her fault that she overachieved her way into the apprenticeship. His anger flared higher as all these thoughts ran through his head and he was just about ready to give her the tongue lashing of her life when he saw that she was cowered against the wall with her hands palm up in a clear way that said she wasn't a threat. He had seen this in muggles on the raids he went on with the death eaters but seeing it in a witch that had gone through so much literally made his heart die in his chest. He realized now what it must look like from her perspective, he was not ignorant to the things that had happened while she was on the run and she must be flashing back to that time. She no longer saw him as her professor in a school, she saw him as a death eater towering over her. Stronger and capable of hurting her if he wanted to, all throbbing from his privates dulled by the throbbing now coursing through his body from his heart. How could she think that he would hurt her? He bent his head to his chest and let his fears of never being seen as anything other than a murdering death eater wash over him. Reopening scars and wounds that he thought had long been healed. He felt like he was bleeding though upon inspection he saw that he was whole and unharmed. No, this was a different type of bleeding, one that came from the things people said about him when they thought he wasn't around. This was the type of bleeding that came from the abuse of his childhood that came from being magical. He turned his back on the frightened girl and said in a low voice, "Go Miss Granger, your detention is over. I will owl you tomorrow about your apprenticeship details." He expected to hear the rustling signaling her departure but jumped quiet sharply when he felt a small hand on his arm, just above his elbow.

Hermione felt horrible for her immediate defensive gesture that had obviously hurt the man in front of her. The change in his actions proved that he had taken her actions the wrong way and completely personally. How was he to know the horrors she went through by the fellows that carried the mark on his forearm? How was he to know that she went through hell during her capture during the war? He couldn't know the fear that went through her anytime any male came near her except for Harry and Draco. Even Ron wasn't able to touch her without her going ridged and literally shaking in fear. He was looking at her hand in a mixture of confusion and… revulsion? She quickly removed her hand from his arm and let it fall to her side.

"I would like to know the details now, sir." Hermione said slowly making sure to keep her voice even.

"Remove yourself from my classroom, Miss Granger. I do not want you here nor do I require you here." Snape said with a snarl, reminding her again of the bastard she believed him.

Hermione felt her irritation return pushing down any fear or compassion she had felt previously for the man before her. "I almost thought you had a heart Professor, almost, if you care so little about me; next time don't give me a potion to stop my anaphylactic shock." She snarled at the man's back before briskly walking over to the door and slamming it after she exited the room. The man standing inside the room, unseen to the angry girl, flinched as the noise echoed off the walls.

A/N: I like writing but you know what I love? Reviews.


	8. Hold My Tongue

A/N: Thank you for all your reviews! I will try to make the chapters longer but please remember that I'm a single momma and I'm in college. Chapters will vary in length depending on the time my little boy allows me to sit down to write.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was still fuming when she went on her rounds that night at 11 o'clock; Draco had taken the upper floors which left her the lower floors. She had been avoiding going down towards the dungeons but as she did all the other floors 3 times she decided it was time to suck it up and head down there to check. There weren't many students out of bed, only a few first years that thought they'd explore the castle without teacher's watchful eyes but with the threat of detention with Filch they quickly hurried back to bed. She was grateful that she didn't run into anyone as she headed back for her and Draco's shared dormitory but had just finished this thought when she slapped hard into someone and was knocked onto her butt.

"Really Miss Granger, do you enjoy being on the floor so much?" Snape's smooth drawl came from above her.

She felt her face flush red and got to her feet unsteadily before looking him in the eye and saying, "Go to hell Professor." She made to walk around him but was stopped by a hand on her arm; she looked back at him and saw that he looked shocked to find his hand on her.

"Why?" Snape said much to Hermione's confusion.

"Um… because you act like a basta—" She began but he cut her off sharply.

"No, why did you kiss me?" His eyes had met hers and she saw the nervousness and suspicion there.

"Oh, I'm not really sure. It just…" she looked down away from his searching eyes before finishing her sentence. "I know that my body isn't perfect and is quite repulsive because of the torture I went through but I wanted to see if it was true."

She didn't look up as he let go of her and her heart fell onto the floor shattering as he again confirmed her fears.

"And—what was it you found out Miss Granger?" He asked quietly.

She kept her head down and said quietly before walking away, "It's a good thing I like cats because I think that's the only thing that will love me for me." She kept her tears at bay until she was around the corner and then let the spill hotly down her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus stared after her in shock; he couldn't believe she thought that she was ugly or unworthy of being loved because of her body. There had been a few nights where his dreams were haunted with the image of her naked body standing before him in Grimauld place. Once again he was bewildered by the female race. He had plenty of experience with teenage girls and prepubescent girls with their insecurities and child crushes but never had he been confronted by such insecurity by such a woman in such an astonishing way. He looked up the corridor where she had run but decided against going after her; it was late and he was tired. He was in no fit state to deal with an emotional woman. He shook his head and walked back to his quarters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione hadn't slept the previous night so when she got out of bed it was with heavy eyelids and a puffy red face. She had gone back to her dormitory crying and didn't stop to explain to Draco what the matter with her was just proceeded up to her room. She stood naked in front of her mirror and saw again the reminders of what she was; slut, whore, mudblood, bitch, and other vulgar words that stood out on her otherwise perfect complexion. Feeling more tears well in her eyes made her spin away from the mirror and pull her clothes on. She didn't wear shorts or skirts anymore, no, those weren't things she wanted on her because it would show off her legs. The inside of her thighs bore the words slut and whore so if she ever "spread them for a wizard" they would know instantly what she was. Bellatrix had taken great pleasure in that while she cut up her skin. She quickly pulled her hair up into a ponytail thankful that at least her bushy hair had remained untouched though it had mellowed out. She grabbed her bag before sulking out of her room and into the common room.

"Hermione," Draco said. "Are you going to tell me what was wrong last night?"

"I don't want to talk about it Draco, it was just a rough night. Girl problems you know." She said hoping to deter him from his questioning.

"Okay, do you need anything? Chocolate? Tissues? Um… Feminine things?" He asked her with concern laced in his voice.

Once again Hermione was shocked to find that he was so different than Harry and Ron. He didn't blush or stutter when she mentioned her menstrual cycle; he just asked if she needed anything. Apparently being with many different girls and dealing with their moods had desensitized him to the embarrassment of certain things.

She smiled at him feeling genuinely happy that he was there and replied, "No, I'm alright. Thank you."

He nodded his head in acknowledgement but said nothing further as they walked through the halls down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He gently squeezed her hand before walking towards the Slytherin table and sat down next to another of his friends that had come back.

Hermione glanced up towards the head table as she plopped down next to Ginny and saw Snape already there drinking his coffee. His look from the previous night popped up in her mind and her eyes welled with tears again so she turned her head back to her plate. She wasn't hungry but she picked up a banana and ate it slowly feeling like she was chewing on cardboard. Her eyes lifted back towards the man drinking his coffee as if they had a mind of their own and but he was still there drinking his coffee with his eyes downcast. Owls swooped into the hall bringing the mail to the various people; she just sighed but gave a startled jump when three landed in front of her. She recognized Hedwig so she took that one first and reached for the second parcel attached to her leg but she hooted and hopped over to Ginny giving her the other parcel. She turned back to the two owls and reached her hand out towards the hawk-like one. It nipped affectionately at her fingers though she had never seen the bird before in her life she liked it immediately. She offered the owl a piece of bacon which it took with an appreciative hoot before taking flight again. She saw the familiar scrawl on the parchment that told her it was from none other but Professor Snape. She opened it and read the short message,

_Miss Granger,_

_I know that you have a free period after breakfast, come to my office. _

_S.S_

She looked towards head of the hall but the man wasn't there anymore so she sighed and got up ready to head down to the dungeons. It took a shorter amount of time than she would have liked and before she knew it she was knocking on her professor's door. After she heard, "enter", she stepped into the room and up to the desk where the man sat.

"Yes sir?" She asked in a slightly quiet voice.

"We are going to talk," He said not looking up at her but keeping his attention on his parchment.

"Great, well are you going to look at me while we talk or are I to have a conversation with the top of your head?" She said wearily.

His head shot up to look at her but he wasn't wearing his customary scowl that she was used to. He stood quickly and walked around to stand in front of his desk leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why do you think you are here?" He asked.

Hermione shrugged slightly before saying, "I don't know, you enjoy terrorizing children."

"You are not a child Miss Granger, and therefore should not be afraid of me."

"You are a man stronger and more capable of hurting me if you so desired." She countered.

"That is true; but have I ever hurt you before?"

Hermione snorted with dry amusement but when she saw the look of anger on his face she tried to backtrack. "Not physically sir or at least I don't think you have. But words have the same effect on people as if you'd struck them with a hex."

He nodded at these words in understanding but said, "I am the way I am because of a past that I cannot change and situations I have suffered through."

"While your circumstances certainly make you who you are, the choice to let your past dictate your every move is exactly that, a choice." She said actually enjoying the light debate they were doing.

"Why are you ashamed of your scars?" He asked ignoring her last statement.

Hermione scowled at him and said, "You've seen my body so why ask a question you already know the answer to?"

"I have seen you naked but that doesn't not answer my question, why are you ashamed of your scars?" He pressed again.

"Why wouldn't I be ashamed of my scars? Would you enjoy the names that I have on my body? Would you take _pride _in the words I have carved there? Would you feel worth something when you've been treated as you have no worth? Have you ever had people hold you down while they use your body any way they can?" She was panting hard and the end of this speech and her eyes stung with unshed tears.

"Yes Miss Granger, I have." He said calmly. He waved his hand to lock his classroom door before beginning to undo the buttons at his throat. Hermione watched in curiosity and shock as he began to reveal his bare chest to her she was about to ask what the hell he was doing until she caught sight of the discolorations on his skin. Once his shirt was off completely along with his outer robes he stood before her with a slight flush on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus had never shown his bare skin to anyone, let alone a student, but he felt like if she saw that she was not the only one with scars then she would feel better. He waited with his eyes closed while she looked at him not prepared to see the revulsion in her eyes at the sight of him. When a soft warm hand touched his chest he jumped back sharply and opened his eyes to see Hermione standing before him with her hand outstretched. He searched her face but saw only curiosity on her face as she walked back towards him and placed her hand back on her chest. He felt her fingers trail across his skin over what he knew were the scars that marred his skin. When she ran her fingers over his ribs he resisted the urge to squirm under her ticklish light touch as she proceeded to his back. She continued her journey of his scars as he closed his eyes and simply lost himself in the feel of someone touching him without violence. He hadn't known a tender touch such as hers in many, many years. His eyes popped open and almost jumped out of his head when he felt her lips pressed to his chest. When she looked up at his face finally he saw the tears swimming there mixed with pity, no, not pity, sympathy. She understood his fears of revulsion and his fears of showing anyone his body due to the disfiguring he had gone through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're beautiful," Hermione said to the man standing before her. She saw him in a completely different way now, no longer was he an evil, sarcastic bastard. No, now he was a brave, misunderstood, neglected man that deserved nothing but respect.

He made a disbelieving sound as he pulled back on his shirt and began to button it. "There is no need to lie Miss Granger, I assure you my feelings are not fragile." He was looking down causing his hair to hide his face from her.

She gently reached her hand forward and put her hand under his chin bringing his face up to force him to look her in the eye. "I am not lying," She said with all the sincerity she could put in her voice. "You are beautiful because your scars show that you are brave and strong. They show that your life is not easy but you have survived more than most people." She dropped her hand and her head before saying, "You are definitely worthy of being loved."

It was his turn to pull her face up to look her in the eye as he said, "you should take your own advice."

Hermione felt tears well in her eyes and said hotly, "I can't. I can't do that because letting anyone close would be stupid. Do you know she carved slut and whore on the inside of my thighs? Do you know why? No? Let me inform you, it was so if I was ever intimate with a man he would have no doubts about the way he could use me. She made that clear as she carved me up like a pumpkin, the only reason why my privates are intact is because of Harry and Ron's timely arrival. That's it." She yanked her chin out of his grasp and turned her back on him. "I wish I had died, I wish that she had just killed me. I know that my body is horrible and that I'm not pretty. You proved that to me very clearly when you looked at my body in Grimauld place. I saw the look of disgust on your face, that's what every man will look like after they see me naked."

He stood frozen behind her for a fraction of a second before grabbing her arm and whirling her around. He roughly pulled her to him and brought his lips down to hers in a gentle but firm kiss. His arm went around her waist and pulled her closer to his body. Hermione opened her mouth under his kiss and her heart thumped painfully as he delved his tongue into her mouth. He tasted just like he smelled, herbs and coffee, it was more intoxicating than his smell. She pressed herself up against his chest putting her entire body flush to his. He gently and slowly pulled back out of the kiss to release her and step back. "I was not disgusted by you or your body, merely by the vile evil things that they did to you. No young person should have to endure that. I look at you in a lot of ways but disgust is not one of them."

She let these words sink in before saying "thank you" quietly. There was quiet for a while before she said, "Now what?"

His eyes jerked up to hers and she saw him instantly fall back into "bastard teacher" mode. "Now nothing, Miss Granger, I am your professor and you my student and apprentice. Do not fill your head with fantasies of happy ever after or relationships. You are still a child and I old enough to be your father; there will be nothing.

She felt her anger rise again in her like a volcano with every word he said and as he finished her anger blew up. "I've got to say professor; I've never quite had a kiss like that from my father but thank you for schooling me in it. Funnily enough, I have no ideas of a relationship with you because quite honestly while you're an excellent kisser, I'd much rather date the giant squid." She snapped at him sharply.

"You little brat," he said loudly. "You will come down here for your detention and your first apprenticeship job. I find that my storeroom needs to be scrubbed and reorganized, without magic of course. Perhaps that will teach you to hold your tongue and if it doesn't we'll find something else."

Hermione was shaking with anger as she walked up to him, close enough to smell his scent, she smirked as she said, "I don't know _sir_, you were doing a pretty good job of 'holding my tongue' a minute ago. Do you do that with all your students or am I just special?" She felt a triumphant glee as she saw his face pale and then go bright red but before he could explode she turned and strolled out of the room. She laughed loudly when she heard him make an angry noise inside the room and laughed even harder when he threw something at the door. She headed to her next class feeling considerably happier, odd since she had just pissed off the man she had to deal with later.

A/N: So? Whatchya think? Let me know. :)


	9. Storeroom Accidents

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. The characters aren't mine and I'm not making anything from my stories. **

Hermione's amusement lasted through her class and all the way until lunch but it died completely when she walked into the great hall glancing up at the Head Table and seeing a different professor where Snape should have been. It was like the ultimate kick in the gut from him, and it also made her angry. She stormed over to the Gryffindor table and slammed herself down on the bench but didn't eat. '_How dare he? How dare that man run like a child?' _she thought to herself angrily glaring at the goblet in front of her like it had done her personal insult. She tuned out the conversation around her giving herself over to her angry thoughts; she was so deep in plotting his death that she didn't notice Minerva standing in front of her yelling her name.

"Miss Granger!" Minerva McGonagall yelled causing the hall to quiet down and stare at the pair.

"Huh—What?" Hermione said, finally looking around her then flushing red when she noticed the hall staring at her.

"I need a word with you when you are done eating," the older woman replied before walking on.

"Wait! Professor, I'm done." Hermione said standing up quickly and falling into step beside her mentor.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm not hungry."

"Professor Snape has canceled your detention tonight with him but assures me that you will make it up when he returns." She said in an even voice.

"Okay Professor, thank you." She watched the Scottish woman walk away down the corridor and turned to walk to her next class with no motivation at all.

The next 3 days found Hermione depressed, snappy, and just a terror to be around all together. It was Saturday when she walked into the hall for lunch having slept straight through breakfast. She had been taking dreamless sleep the last 3 nights to keep herself from alternating between fighting mad and crying depression. But as she glanced at the head table it was to see that Snape was back; her heart stopped and then took off again as it soared with joy. She was just about to look away when his head suddenly lifted and his eyes met hers. She stood frozen to the spot at the fire in his eyes; she felt like her soul was being scorched under his gaze but didn't look away. It wasn't until someone bumped into her breaking her concentration that she looked away. Her breath coming in shallow breaths and heart beating quickly as she sat down to eat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus had taken a few days to try and get her out of his head; he couldn't take being near her again. He had actually been foolish enough to believe that he had been rid of her but as she walked into the hall that morning looking depressed and hurt he knew that leaving was stupid. She had obviously been affected by his leaving and he had added another pain to her already hurting heart. The fire that shone through her eyes as she stared at him had been both of joy, anger, and also desire.

'_And you desire her as well,'_ he thought to himself. He wasn't sure how to handle this because he had never had any feelings for a student before. Hell it had been 20 years since he had found himself attracted like this to a female and that had ended with him guilty for 20 years. He hadn't thought of her before last year as anything but an irritating know-it-all. Somewhere in the last year his view of her changed, he saw her fighting on the battle field against the death eaters and he was able to see her amazing skills at dueling. Then seeing her at Grimauld place completely obliterated any thoughts of 'girl' about her. She was smart, had a wit like a whip, had a brain that could keep up with his own, and looked at the world through clear eyes. His eyes found their way over to her again and he surveyed her again. She wasn't eating rather moving food around her plate and halfheartedly listening to the redheaded Weasley next to her. She looked thinner than she had over the summer and he wondered, not for the first time, if she was eating. Judging by the way her friend kept trying to get her to eat she wasn't. Draco walked up to her and her face broke into a smile as they exchanged words; he felt a pang of something at seeing her warm reaction to the boy. His mood was instantly soured when he saw the boy lean across the table and kiss her on the forehead. He stood up quickly and stormed down to the table she was sitting at.

"Miss Granger, you will come with me and serve your detention along with your apprenticeship." He said in a low voice that made it clear an argument was not wise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione heard the command and her heart skipped a beat with hope; she stood and walked behind her professor out of the great hall towards the dungeons. They entered quietly walking straight for his storeroom and as he undid the wards she gathered her courage.

"Why did you leave?" She asked quietly to his back.

"It was—necessary," He replied keeping his back to her.

"Why? Why when you did?"

"You are my student and I should not have any feelings for you." He moved slightly to the side to lean up against the door jam.

"But you do have feelings for me?" She said trying to keep the hopeful tone out of her voice.

"Yes." That three letter word made her heart stop and a smile break out on her face.

She got her facial expression under control before she calmly walked by him to enter the storeroom to begin her detention. He stood in the same place staring at her before turning to go to his desk to complete his marking. She tuned everything out as she began to organize the ingredients in the room first by age, potency, relationship, then by alphabetical order. It was around an hour later when she heard Snape's voice behind her and she jumped. In her fear she accidentally squeezed the vial in her hand too hard breaking it and embedding glass in her hand.

"Ow," She whimpered as the potion stung her hand.

"Silly girl," his voice said with little bite as he took her hand and grabbed the piece of glass embedded in her hand; he started to pull it out but when she jerked her hand back his finger got sliced as well. "Bloody hell woman, hold still!" He jerked his hand away from her and she felt the sting fade to be replaced by a burning feeling. The burning feeling traveled up her arm to her heart and the spiraled down to the place between her thighs. She suddenly had the urge to touch herself or even better have the man standing feet in front of her touch her.

Severus felt the sting of the cut quickly be replaced by a burning feeling that quickly shot up his arm and down to his manhood. "What were you organizing Miss Granger?" His voice was a hiss through his clenched teeth.

"Erm… just your potions; I had just picked up—" Her voice trailed off as her brain suddenly remembered what potion she had been holding.

"Yes?"

"It was a—a—a lust potion sir." She said not looking at his face.

"Of all the potion's to break!" He briskly walked away from her back out to the classroom and sat down behind his desk. He could hear her behind him and looked up to see her sit down at one of the desks. She looked delectable and his mind flashed back to the image of her standing stark naked before him. His penis gave a throb as his pants grew tight around his erection.

"I'll just sit here, sir, and—and you just sit there until the effects wear off." Hermione said with a calm she didn't feel. "How long will it take to wear off?"

"At least a day, Miss Granger if we're lucky," He snarled at her.

"Well don't get pissy with me, you're the one that has potions in crappy vials. Honestly, I'm not super woman but I was able to break the vial." She snapped back at him. She saw his fists clench and knew that he was keeping himself in check.

"You're the one that didn't check which vial you had broken before I soiled myself with getting the potion in my system." He snapped back.

She bolted out of her chair and around his desk putting her finger in his face and saying hotly, "Don't you dare blame this on me you arse." She knew instantly that going anywhere near him was a mistake because as his scent reached her nose she had to fight the urge to throw herself on him. She looked up into his eyes which prove to be her breaking point as she saw the fire of desire in his eyes. She heard him growl seconds before his hand came up to cup the back of her neck pulling her to him quickly. His lips descended on hers in a kiss that stole her breath. She licked along his bottom lip seeking entrance into his mouth and when he opened to her questing tongue she pressed herself closer to his body. Their tongues warred with each other almost as though they were fighting for dominance. She brought her hands up to unbutton his shirt but he caught her hands in his steely grip. She pulled back from the kiss to look in his eyes slightly startled. His hands let go of her wrists to go down to her waist and he turned her gently before pushing her back onto his desk. When he kissed her again it was with heat and urgency that made her even wetter. He ran his hands down her back to her waist again then grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

Severus looked at her breasts encased in a black bra that pushed them up irresistibly so they begged to be kissed and sucked on. He pulled her into his body again so she could feel his desire for her pressed hard against her core.

Hermione was beyond being patient as she reached for his belt and undid it. He pulled her off the desk long enough to push her pants and knickers down her legs. Once she was standing naked before him he lifted her back onto his desk. She pulled his head down to her lips for another kiss as she felt his fingers trail down her back towards the apex of her thighs. She instinctively spread her thighs to give him easier access and gently nibbled on his lower lip when his fingertips brushed over her sensitive outer lips.

Severus noticed how ready for him she already was and feeling her hot wetness made his penis give a painful throb. He pulled her towards her so that he had a clear shot at her entrance without being hindered by the desk. He grasped himself in his hand and pulled away from their kiss to watch himself rub his head up and down her wet slit. He heard her moan gently when he brushed his head over her swollen exposed clit.

"Pl-Please," Hermione gasped out against the sensations radiating from her core.

"Please what?" He rasped out, his throat rough from his want.

"Please, I want-I want you."

She gasped as he gently pushed his swollen head into her entrance both from the painful stretching and how good it felt. Severus' eyes snapped up to her as he pushed up against her hymen and for a moment had thoughts to withdraw.

"You're a virgin?" He said accusingly in her ear.

She felt ashamed at her inexperience but answered him softly, "yes."

"Are you sure you want it to be me?"

She was shocked that he asked and thrust her hips against his and answered more determined, "yes."

He nodded his acknowledgement then pumped his hips a few times to distribute her wetness along him length before plunging through her thin innocence and hissed when her nails dug into his sides painfully. He stilled to give her the opportunity to adjust to him while he kissed away the stinging. He looked up at her for confirmation to start moving and when she nodded her head he flexed his hips again. She was tighter than he could have ever imagined and it made his head spin from the absolute perfect pleasure spiraling up his spine. He deepened his thrusts as her moans picked up in fever and urgency. On a particularly deep thrust he felt himself but up against her cervix and judging by the tightening of her slick walls around him; he had found her sweet spot.

She couldn't believe the fullness that was radiating from her core, he kept bumping against her cervix and the sensations from that made her clench tightly around him. He was stroking in and out of her at a maddening slow pace keeping what she really wanted just barely out of her reach. She began to thrust her hips to meet his and it seemed to push him over the edge as he gripped her hips in his hands tightly and began to pound into her with renewed vigor. The only sound in the room was there quick breathing and the sound of flesh meeting flesh.

"Cum for me," Severus whispered in a strained voice trying to keep himself in check. He reached his hand down between her legs and brushed his thumb across her swollen nub a few times before he felt her start to tense and shake. Her walls clenched around him tightly as he hit her cervix sending her over the edge and causing her to moan out. He thrust in and out a few more times before he thrust in hard one last time bumping against her cervix causing his sperm to shoot hotly inside her. He bit her shoulder gently to keep from crying out as he literally felt dizzy from his release. He stayed inside her until his breath slowed and he was able to breathe more evenly.

Hermione felt him pull out and adjust himself while he zipped his zipper she heaved air in and out of her lungs. She opened her mouth to say something but before she did he turned from her with ridged shoulders.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. Before she could say another word he walked away from her and out of the room leaving her naked and confused on his desk.

**A/N: Silly man. I really enjoy writing this story and I have so many ideas. But you know what I love? More than chocolate and coffee? Okay, not coffee but definitely ice cream; it is reviews. So go on; review please. **


	10. Laying with Snakes

**A/N: I'm not making any money and I don't claim to own these characters. A reminder for those who have PM me about the 'grossness of the pairing'; my story clearly says Hermione Granger/Severus Snape so if you don't like the pairing DON'T READ THE STORY. It is also rated M for Mature, so if you're squeamish about the age difference, sex scenes, or anything of the like DON'T READ THE STORY. Thank you. That is all. **

**Also, I am potty training the babe so updates may be fewer as I try to keep my head above the… well, shit. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Damn him. Damn that bloody man. This was Hermione's chant to herself over the next two days until her Potions class on Monday. She couldn't believe that he had just left her like that, naked, on his desk. She thought back on their sex on his desk and was thrilled that she finally got into his head but for him to apologize and then leave? Oh no, that wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all.

Monday morning found Hermione and Ginny walking down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They were talking animatedly about the way Hermione looked that morning.

"Why are you so… fancy looking?" Ginny asked her as they sat down.

Hermione laughed and said, "Fancy looking? I'm only wearing a little mascara Gin, not anything to be bothered by."

"And your hair is smoothed down, your skirt looks shorter, and your breasts… well, wow."

Hermione blushed red and looked down; the girl had a point though. She had purposely hemmed her skirt an inch and made her shirt just a tiny bit tighter so that it showed off her slim waist and toned stomach. Judging by the looks she was getting from the guys they had definitely noticed that the Gryffindor "know-it-all" was quite the babe.

"Honestly Ginerva, you'd think that I'm an ugly duckling," Hermione said putting bacon and eggs on her plate before pouring herself some pumpkin juice.

"Not… exactly," Her friend said the receiving a glare from Hermione she laughed loudly. "Oh honestly, I'm kidding."

Hermione shook her head at her friend before glancing past her up to the head table; Snape was there drinking his coffee and sensing eyes on her he lifted his gaze but before his gaze met hers she lowered her eyes. That didn't stop the blush that crept up her face, however, as she felt his gaze burn into her. She refused to meet his eyes though because she was still angry for his actions on Saturday. Instead she turned her attention back to her friend who was talking to her.

"—and they said that they'd be here for a day this weekend but no long—Hermione, are you okay? You're bright red." Her friend cut off catching sight of the flushed look on the older girls' face.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine just a little overheated I suppose," she said trying to calm her heated face. She could still feel her professor's heated look so she didn't manage it.

"Maybe you should go see Madame Pomfrey, you could be getting a bug," Ginny suggested to her offhandedly and with that Hermione was seized with an idea.

"Yeah, I think I will Gin, I'll see you later." With that she got up from the table and without a backward glance strolled out of the great hall towards the direction of the infirmary. However, once she was near the infirmary she walked straight past the double doors and into the library. She pulled out some of her homework and began to do it keeping an ear out for anyone coming in her direction. A while later she stretched her neck and checked the time noticing that she had stayed straight through Potions and had 5 minutes to get to Defense without being late. She packed up quickly and tore out of the library but as she rounded a corner she slammed into someone sending herself and the other person onto the floor.

"Owwww, owww, owww," She whined as her butt came into contact with the floor. She looked up to check if the person was alright and froze when she met the eyes of a very furious Severus Snape.

"Miss Granger," He hissed out between clenched teeth while he stood. "Would you care to explain why you felt you didn't have to come to my class?"

Hermione climbed to her feet before looking at him in the eye saying, "It was necessary."

He stared at her with a look of pain and desire meshed together and she felt a twinge of guilt shoot through her.

"_I'm sorry_, sir." She said shoving her pointed attack at him home. "I have to get to my next class before I'm late." She walked around him to continue up the hall when his voice called her back.

"15 points and another week's detention Miss Granger, for missing your lesson," Snape said coldly.

She looked over her shoulder and said, "15 points from Slytherin, professor, for missing the point." She smirked at his furious look but turned the corner before he could say anything further.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

'_Damn her. Damn that woman_.' Severus thought as he watched the chit walk away. He knew that he had made a mistake when he'd walked out but he'd only done it because he wasn't sure how to handle the thoughts and feelings that were coursing through his body. He had felt disgust at having sex with a student but also a strong urge to hold her and protect her. Those feelings were so new and slightly scary if he was honest with himself. She was his student and his apprentice; she would be taking over teaching when he decided to leave. Though that was still many years from now she would still need to be ready to take over by the end of even this year. She was obviously still upset with him and he decided that the only thing to do was to wait until that night to talk to her during her "detention".

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Hermione walked into dinner that evening in a very good mood indeed, whether it was because of her earlier talk with Snape when she made it clear she was upset; or because she and Draco had spent the entire last part of the day laughing and joking with each other. As they walked into the great hall Draco leaned over and said in her ear, "If you ever want a ride on my broomstick, let me know."

Hermione shoved him away from her but laughed loudly when he came back to kiss her temple. She shook her head at the man's antics but as she looked up towards the head table her smile slid off her face at the look her professor was giving the two. He looked absolutely furious as he looked over at the blonde walking towards the Slytherin table then back at her. She swallowed heavily as she realized that he mistook the nature of their relationship. With a slightly less than happy attitude she trudged towards the Gryffindor table where Ginny was sitting eating her dinner. She sat down and began to eat in silence trying to keep her mind off the thoughts of how her detention and being in the same room as Snape was going to go. She watched him stand out of the corner of her eye but waited until he had disappeared before following him out heading down to the dungeons. When she knocked on the door and heard "enter" from inside she tried to swallow the feeling of dread settling into her stomach.

"Miss Granger," his voice said sharply. "You will make the potions Madame Pomfrey needs to restock the infirmary. Contraception, pain killer, and dreamless sleep are the main ones; get started."

She blinked in confusion at his short tone and callous attitude but did as she was told; after collecting the ingredients she began to make the potions required while he wrote on the black board. She was aware of his every move, the way his hand wrote his spikey handwriting across the board, stopping momentarily as if thinking of how to best write the next part. They carried on in silence for the next 3 hours neither one talking at all; the only noise was the scratching of his chalk upon the chalkboard and the noise of her brewing. When she had finished the task he had sent her she stood patiently watching him for a few minutes before saying loudly, "I'm finished Professor."

He turned and walked over to her to look at her results then nodded his acceptance at the potions. "That will be all Miss Granger, you may go." He didn't wait for an answer but turned to walk back to the chalkboard.

Hermione didn't move however but stayed where she was watching him and jumped when he said with his back to her, "Is something affecting your hearing, Miss Granger?" When she shook her head no he continued, "Then you are dismissed."

"No." She said confidently.

"Excuse me?" He replied freezing but not turning towards her.

"Now who has trouble hearing," She said pressing her luck by her cheek.

It was then that he turned and stalked towards her, much like a tiger stalking its prey.

"Do not assume that just because you are my apprentice that you can talk back to me, Miss Granger, I am your professor." He snarled.

"I would never assume anything but forgive me if our history has clouded my judgment a little." She said not backing down from his challenge.

"We have no history, Miss Granger." He said coming to stand in front of her, towering over her slightly. "Do not think that a potion in my system makes me think differently about you; you are still my student and I your professor and you will treat me as such."

Hermione looked into his eyes and seeing the heady desire there she said, "Of course not Professor, I'm sure you fuck all your students." His eyes flashed with anger seconds before his mask of indifference was back in place.

"You insolent little—" his next words were cut off however when she reached up and pulled his head down to hers catching his lips in a kiss. He stood there stiffly before huffing out a breath and pulling her against his body. He kissed her gently but with building passion and Hermione fought the urge to press herself fully against him; to rub herself completely along his length.

He broke the kiss suddenly and looked down at her before grabbing her wrist and dragging her behind him. They walked through his storeroom through a door and she gasped when she saw that his quarters were beyond the door. She looked at him quickly to see that he was looking slightly nervous at having her in his rooms but she leaned up to kiss him again and felt his body relax. He kissed her urgently as his hands trailed down her back and back up again.

She reached her hands up to undo his buttons one-by-one and was delighted that he didn't stop her. When she slipped the last button out of its hole, she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed the robes plus his outer flock coat off his shoulders. She made quick work of his under shirt and as her hands met the bare skin of his chest they both breathed heavily. He pulled her shirt over her head and threw it to the side before unclasping her bra causing her breasts to spill out into his hands.

He pulled his lips from hers to look down at her breasts with a hungry glint in his eyes. He moved her back gently till her knees bumped against the bed and urged her to lay down which she did willingly. She backed up on the bed till she was able to lie down on his pillows and watched him as he pulled off his trousers before lying on the bed next to her.

His scorching gaze met hers for a moment before he lowered his mouth to her puckered nipples. He sucked and licked her left nipple until she had to rub her legs together to get some friction on the place that most needed it. As he lifted his mouth from her left nipple he looked down momentarily to unbutton her jeans before resuming his assault on her right nipple. He sucked hard on the bead like peak as his fingers dipped between her legs to feel the proof of her desire. He groaned against her breast when he felt how hot and ready she was for him. Pulling his mouth from her chest he began to kiss down her stomach to the waistband of her jeans; he stopped and looked up at her waiting for her to raise her hips so he could pull her jeans and knickers down.

Once he had discarded her pants on the floor and turned back to her she was already dripping onto his blanket from needy anticipation. He grabbed her hips and pulled her down towards him so that her butt was just barely on the edge of the bed. His long fingers parted her sodden folds to look at her quim before leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on her clit. He drew back slightly when she bucked her hips and waited until she had stilled before gently slipping his tongue out to taste the juices that had collected on her soaked lips. Hermione moaned as his tongue grazed her clit and knotted the covers in her fists. He lapped at her slit urgently as more and more of her moisture leaked out for him to devour, he licked it up as soon as it flowed out acting as though he was a man stranded in the desert and she the water. He pulled her clit into his mouth and suckled and licked it like he had with her breast enjoying the tiny mewling noises that were coming from the witch above him.

Hermione closed her eyes tightly and reached down grabbing his shoulders as he ran his tongue over her clit one more time shattering into a million pieces as her body arched off the bed as tremors of release wracked her body. She was vaguely aware of him moving and as she felt the hardness of his penis nudging her opening she opened her eyes to see him watching her. She spread her thighs farther apart to hold his hips and put her hands on his hips trying to pull him fully into her.

"Patience, Miss Granger," he chuckled at her.

"Hermione," She corrected him. "My name is Hermione, Sev—Severus."

He looked down at her at the use of her name but instead of reprimanding her like she thought he would his lips tipped up in a gentle smile as he pushed himself into her body. "Hermione," He said as if testing how it sounded in his mouth the sound of it was enough to make her cum right there.

Hermione leaned up to kiss him as he withdrew from her before thrusting deeply back into her warmth. He closed his eyes feeling her slick walls tighten in the aftermath of her climax and had to focus on not cuming too soon. He picked up his pace flexing his hips forward and backward as he leaned down to kiss her. He grabbed her leg and lifted it to his shoulder causing Hermione to gasp at the change in position causing him to go deeper. She felt a bubble building in the pit of her stomach as he continued to pump in and out of her; she was so turned on that when he hit her clit just as he bumped against her cervix she shattered completely.

Severus looked down at her as he felt her tighten and when she moaned his name as she climaxed his control broke completely causing him to buck his hips furiously before his own release hit him suddenly. He said "mine" as he thrust into her one last time before his sperm shot hotly into her his hips flexing reflexively as shot after shot of his desire emptied from his body into her. He buried his face in her neck as he tried to stop the tremors that wracked his body in the aftereffects of his strong orgasm.

Hermione was slightly disappointed when he slid out of her but smiled when he laid to her left and pulled her against his chest. She tried to keep her eyes open, to stay awake, but his warm even breath in her ear caused her to drift off into a deep sated sleep.

Severus leaned up when he heard her breath even out and looked down at the sleeping witch in his arms with a look of admiration on his face. He thoughts for a moment to get up and sleep elsewhere but as she snuggled herself back against him he decided against it; he pulled the covers over them both and followed his witch into satisfied slumber quite enjoying the feeling of falling asleep holding someone.

**A/N: *cue AWWWWS*. There's gotta be some sweetness in there I mean he can't be a total jerk ALL the time but don't you worry about this story being nothing but lovey dovey; there's angst ahead. Let me know what you think. **


	11. Running Away

**A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews! I love waking up to see that I have emails containing reviews inside from all my readers. **

Hermione woke up first the next morning and had to blearily look around the unfamiliar room before she remembered the night before. She felt Severus' chest pressed against her back and heard his even breathing signaling that he was still asleep. She cast a charm to check the time startled to see that she had missed breakfast completely and there was 10 minutes left before Severus had to be in front of his class teaching. She lifted up on her elbow to look down at the man sleeping next to her and she smiled gently as she saw a small smile jerk his lips upwards.

"Severus," She said softly running her forefinger down his nose. She giggled when he twitched his face away from the ticklish touch but slept on. She repeated the action and he slapped her hand away before rolling onto his back still sound asleep. She grinned mischievously as she pulled the covers down past his morning erection and glancing up saw that he was still asleep. She studied his rock hard penis with a curious look and slipped her tongue out to taste the liquid that was leaking from his slit. It was salty but not unpleasantly so; she lowered her head to take his length completely into her mouth.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Severus woke to extreme pleasure coming from his nether regions and was surprised when he looked down to see a brunette head bobbing up and down on his erection. The night before came rushing back to him as he watched the woman pleasure him and smiled at the memories; he reached down to run his fingers through Hermione's hair.

Feeling fingers in her hair she looked up at the man staring down at her with lusty eyes not pulling her mouth from him but instead gave an enthusiastic suck that caused him to suck in a breath. He focused solely on the pleasure that was shooting up his spine only to shoot back down to the throbbing organ currently buried in his witch's hot wet mouth. He felt his testicles tighten and gave a tug on her hair signaling her to stop but she only sucked harder.

"Her—Hermione, if you—if you don't stop," He rasped out tensing his body to keep from releasing his seed into the woman's mouth. "I'm going to – I'm going to cum." He said as she gave a particularly hard suck and white spots popped in front of his eyes as he released his seed deep into her throat with a groan.

Hermione sucked everything he had from him like she was sucking from a straw and looked up into his heavily lidded eyes before swallowing. He let out a little moan as she kissed his shrinking penis before she crawled up to him. She placed a quick kiss on his lips before saying sweetly, "Good morning, you have 6 minutes before you have to teach third years." She hopped off the bed and giggled when he bolted up but frowned when he waved his wand dressing himself with a single silent spell. She crossed her arms over her still naked breasts saying, "No fair."

He had transformed back into the teacher mode as soon as his teaching robes were on. "Leave before me Miss Granger, and be careful not to be seen."

Hermione pulled on her shirt and said, "Do you regret last night?"

He looked at her steadily for a minute before walking to her and kissing her gently. "No, I don't regret it."

"Do you want it to happen again," She said testing the unfamiliar ground she was on.

He looked away from her with his brow furrowed as if trying to figure out a particularly hard problem but looked back at her before saying, "I cannot let you go but I am your professor and you my student, we must not be caught. I need my job and you your apprenticeship."

"So we're just Professor and Miss Granger again?"

"For now," he said shortly.

Her face broke into a brilliant smile as she leaned up to kiss him before hurrying out of his room to her dorm room. Things were never simple with him but at least they seemed to have reached an agreement of sorts. Severus watched her go with a small shake of his head wondering where his brain had run off to for him to get involved with a student, not just any student either, Minerva's princess. He shoved all those thoughts out of his head as he headed to his classroom to teach the first set of dunderheads.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Hermione walked into lunch that day joking again with Draco about going for a ride on his broomstick while Ginny walked on his other side laughing with them. As was becoming customary he kissed her forehead before walking to the Slytherin table to eat while Ginny and Hermione laughed hysterically trying to walk towards the Gyrffindor table.

"Imagine—imagine him trying to do that during a Quidditch game? He'd for sure get a penalty for distracting the other team." Ginny said hiccoughing on her words barely managing to get them out.

Hermione laughed as she sat down and said, "Gives new meaning to busting your balls." Ginny and she dissolved into giggles as they got curious looks from both students and teachers alike. The only person not laughing at the two was the dark haired man who had begun scowling at the kiss to his lover's head.

They continued their banter back and forth throughout lunch completely oblivious to the furious gaze of one Severus Snape until they got up to leave and she glanced to where Draco was sitting; she caught Severus' look out of the corner of her eye and was puzzled at why he was upset. As Draco walked over to her and his gaze shifted to his godson she connected the pieces. '_Shit, shit, shit_,' she thought repeatedly. As she walked out of the hall she glanced back but the man in question had disappeared causing her heart to drop to her feet. She had another 'detention' that night so she resolved to talk about it then.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Severus watched his godson walk out of the hall with the two girls and decided to follow them. They were talking animatedly while they walked to the Quidditch pitch with Draco's broom thrown over his shoulder.

"Come on, 'Mione, you know you wanna ride on my broomstick. I'll even go slow so you don't get scared." Draco drawled at the brunette who laughed but replied, "I would ride your broomstick Draco even if it had a seatbelt."

"I always use protection Granger, always." Draco said with a wink.

Severus felt his anger bubble underneath the surface but as the bell rang behind him signaling that he was required in his 5th year potions class he turned and strolled back up to the school.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Ginny, Draco, and Hermione walked up to the school as the grounds began to get dark with slightly red faces. Hermione felt dread take up resident in the pit of her stomach as she walked into the hall and saw that Severus' seat was vacant. She immediately lost her appetite for food so she said goodbye to Ginny and headed straight for the dungeons. She had barely gotten out of the Great Hall though when she spotted Severus walking towards her; with a dark scowl on his face.

"Severus," Hermione began but she stopped when he held up his hand cutting her off.

"Don't you dare say my name, what is your relationship with Mr. Malfoy?" He snarled at her causing her to rear back from his tone.

She felt her anger rise to the surface but she held it in check as she said back, "Excuse me? I just had sex with you last night and spent the night but you're worried about MY RELATIONSHIP WITH DRACO?" Her voice had crept up to a scream as she talked and he growled as he took her hand dragging her into an empty classroom. He threw up silencing charms and locked the door after he slammed it shut.

"Are you trying to get me fired?" He snapped at her, barely keeping what little control on his anger that he had.

"No I'm not trying to get you fired," realizing that her voice had been loud out in the hall. "I apologize."

"Answer the question."

"He's a friend Severus," She said in an exasperated voice.

"Then why was he asking you to go for a ride on his 'broomstick'," he asked her accusingly.

Hermione opened her mouth to answer but snapped it shut and narrowed her eyes, "How do you know about that? Were—were you following me?"

He had the good sense to look ashamed for a moment before his fury returned, "I don't share what's mine Miss Granger."

"I am not YOURS Severus Snape; you said just this morning that we were teacher and student so forgive me for thinking I could hang out with any guy I damn well want." She hissed out at him.

He grabbed her arm firmly spinning her around and pushing her against the wall. He yanked her pants and underwear down roughly as Hermione stayed pressed against the wall in shock; she knew she should get up but her dripping body wouldn't let her. She heard him fumble with his belt and zipper before he grabbed her hips in both his hands shoving himself roughly into her wet opening. She held herself ridged as he pounded into her like a crazed animal and as his hand came around to flick over her clit she moaned his name into the silence. As he slammed into her once more she felt herself come apart crying out her release with a ragged cry just as he cried out behind her emptying himself into her body. They stayed like that until their breath calmed until he pulled out and adjusted his clothing. Hermione straightened slowly with tears in her eyes and the knowledge that he had basically raped her in her mind. She looked up at his downcast face with tears in her eyes but as he opened his mouth to say something she shook her head and adjusted her clothing before she ran from the room.

Once in the corridor she looked around at the nearly deserted hallway and instantly decided where she wanted to go. She turned and saw Severus exiting the room she had just ran out of but she didn't stop as she ran past him only tried to keep all her tears in her eyes until she was out of eyesight. She rounded the corner and bumped into someone; looking up she saw a very concerned and confused Draco Malfoy. His confusion deepened as she threw herself into his arms but he caught her in his strong arms. He leaned down to pick her up and carried her hysterically crying body to their dorm room. He gave the password to their portrait and when it swung open he walked into the common room to set her on the couch.

"Hermione, what happened?" He said with his voice laced with concern. He noticed some moisture on her thighs as she curled up against the back of the couch and felt his anger fly to the surface. "Hermione, did someone rape you?"

Hermione jerked her head up to meet his gaze trying to calm her tears but she shook her head as more tears spilled down her face. "No-no. I-i-I wanted it…it was consensual. He-he-he was just so-so cold." She said before a fresh wave of tears threatened to cut her throat off from being able to talk. She felt her friend grab her and pulled her against his chest and began to stroke her hair gently while making soothing sounds. Her sniffling eventually subsided into hiccoughs before stopping completely and Draco realized that she was asleep. He pulled himself gently from her grasp to cover her with a blanket, make the fire bigger for more warmth, and looked down at the sleeping girl. He felt his anger rise again at the thought of the moisture she had on her thighs and swore to get an explanation in the morning.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

When Hermione opened her eyes the next morning she was startled to find herself in front of the dying fire on the couch in the common room. As her memory caught up to her from the night before she felt fresh tears well in her eyes but she shoved them away. She got up to go take a shower determined to not let herself cry anymore. While she was getting into the shower however she looked at herself in the mirror and found herself staring at bruises on her arm as well as her hips where Snape's hold had gotten to rough. The bruises were so defined that if she looked hard enough she was sure she could see his fingerprints. She shook her head as she got into the shower and felt the scalding water run over her body but barely felt the burn of the water. She breathed in her vanilla soap deeply as she lathered her body feeling the tension wash away from her body with the soap.

It was 30 minutes later when she emerged from the steamed bathroom fully dressed and ready to face the day; she froze however when she saw a stern looking Draco waiting for her.

She swallowed hard but said lightly, "Morning Draco."

"Save it," the blonde said. "I deserve an explanation."

Hermione knew that she wasn't going to get away without giving him one so she motioned to the couch she had slept on so they sat down. She began at the beginning telling him about Snape showing up at her apartment, about the kiss, and the night before. By the end of her story Draco was staring into the fire with a slack jaw.

"So-so you and-and-and Severus," He asked trying to wrap his head around the information?

Hermione just nodded waiting for the main question which she didn't have long to wait for.

"Last night-" Draco began but Hermione cut him off. "We argued about what he overheard us talking about, your broomstick, and was angry. Things got a little out of hand but I'll be okay; I'll take care of it."

Draco nodded his head in acceptance, "Are you being safe? I mean using… protection?" Hermione laughed genuinely at his words but nodded and assured him, "I've been taking the potion since two years ago, just in case you know."

He nodded and stood holding his hand out to help her up before they set off for breakfast; Hermione acknowledged that she had Potions that day and sincerely hoped that she could make it through her class without any problems.

**A/N: Reviews please! I know this one got a little angsty but we all know that relationships are butterflies and roses. Please note that this story is rated M therefore will have adult themes and content. I in no way support or condone sex in such a way and if you experience this type of thing; talk to someone about it. Please do not flame me because I really don't need any more laughs for today. **


	12. Digging Deeper

**A/N: I am really surprised that I received no flames for the last chapter. *knocks on wood* **

**I'm generally not one that cares what people say but I am human so critiques make me want to give up writing so thank you to all of you who have had only good things and constructive criticism to give me. I really appreciate it. **

As the two walked down to breakfast they came across Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall, Hermione tensed for the briefest moment before Draco gently nudged her forward. She continued walking past the two not taking her eyes off the hall in front of her, she saw Severus glance her way and his voice caught slightly but he continued with even tones.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy," Minerva called to them calling them back to her side. She smiled at the pair as they walked to her side. "How are the head duties going?"

Draco answered first saying, "They're going fine Headmistress, nothing that we can't handle." He glanced over at Hermione who returned his smile easily.

Hermione was hyperaware of Severus' gaze on her face but she didn't return his gaze.

Severus looked at the young witch at his side and saw that her face was drawn, circles under her eyes displayed that she hadn't slept well the previous night. He immediately wanted to reach out and grovel at her feet tell her how sorry he was but that was impossible now. He could feel the stiffness of her body radiating off her and felt another hard twinge knowing he caused it. He hadn't slept the night before either but he didn't deserve to because he had caused pain to the one person who accepted him and had betrayed her trust.

"Hermione, how are your classes? Your apprenticeship," Minerva asked her and she jerked her gaze up to the older woman's smiling warmly at the woman.

"My classes are going well Professor, thank you. My apprenticeship is going… good as well." She said barely covering the catch in her voice.

"Good, good." The older woman said completely oblivious to the tension surrounding the three people standing with her. "Well, breakfast is beginning so we should probably get into the hall if we want food." She strolled off ahead of the group while the three people behind her remained awkwardly standing there.

Hermione looked at Draco who was looking at Severus who, in turn, was looking at Hermione. Draco sneered at Severus before grabbing her hand gently to pull her into the hall.

"Miss Granger, I require a word." Severus called behind them and was taken aback when his godson leaned around her and said, "That will happen when Voldemort himself comes back and makes her." Severus looked at Hermione who was still not looking at him but rather at Draco and he decided that if the chit wanted to boy; she could have him.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Hermione walked into her potions class after breakfast with a heavy heart and after seeing Severus look coldly at her before looking away only made her heart sting more. '_When did he become so much to you_,' Hermione thought to herself. '_When you slept next to him and saw his demeanor slip_,' a small voice answered back. She so badly wanted to rush to him and kiss him, hold him, talk to him that she was literally digging her nails into the underside of the bench she was sitting on.

"You will be brewing Living Death today; you will find the ingredients and directions on page 367. Begin." His voice echoed over the silent room causing the students to quickly comply with his orders.

Hermione gathered her ingredients silently keeping her head down and began to brew but halfway through the lesson he had still not looked at her so she decided desperate times called for desperate measures. She looked around to see that he was berating another Gryffindor so she purposely slipped in the wrong ingredient causing her potion to bubble over and slop onto the floor. His head jerked up to look at her but instead of looking into her eyes he merely waved his hand clearing up the mess.

"Begin again Miss Granger," He said turning back to the Gryffindor he was insulting for incompetency.

Hermione shook with anger at the lack of reaction she got out of him so she sat down on her chair with her arms crossed rather than gathering more ingredients.

"Miss Granger, I believe I told you to begin your potion again," He snarled coming to stand before her putting his hands on her desk.

"_I'm sorry, professor_, she said looking him in the eye but felt her heart sink when he grunted and looked away from her.

"50 points from Gryffindor for your inability to follow instructions, Miss Granger; pity, it seems that our Headmistress was incorrect when she chose her head girl." His cruel voice sliced another gash into her heart as his words hit her.

"It seems that our Headmistress was also mistaken when she hired such a heartless bastard as Potions Master. Did you heart fall into a potion years ago and you never retrieved it or were you simply born without one?"

He stiffened as she finished her angry outburst and he clenched his fists as though he was trying to keep himself from strangling her. "What did you say?"

"You heard me Snape, I didn't stutter." She said crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Get out." He said looking straight at her.

"What?" She said not believing her ears, was he actually kicking her out of class?

"GET OUT OF MY CLASSROOM!" He roared at her spitting in his rage.

Hermione watched as flecks of his spit landed on her desk and stared down at them before looking back up at his face and bursting into hysterical laughter. Severus looked at her like she'd gone crazy and that made her laugh even harder.

"MISS GRANGER, QUIT LAUGHING!" He yelled at her over her laughter. She laughed so hard that she had tears leaking out of her eyes but as she tried to stand she had to grab ahold of the table to support herself.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Severus looked at the witch laughing in front of him and felt his anger snap completely, he waved his hand causing her to be bound to her chair. She looked up at him in surprise and shock but still shook with silent laughter. He started to think about the color of the potion he had vanished and almost groaned when he remember the bubble gum color. Instead of making the Draft of Living Death, she had made the Draft of Laughter. '_Bloody great, just great_,' He thought viciously as he stared at the witch in front of him. He breathed a sigh of relief as the bell rang signaling the end of the class; he waited until the last student had left then waved his hand to lock his door. She had a free period before lunch, he knew, so that he could give her the antidote. He walked to his storeroom, picking up the vial he needed then strolled back out and poured it down her throat.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Hermione instantly felt the urge to laugh disappear replaced by her anger that had vanished; but found herself still bound to a chair.

"Let me go," She snarled at the man standing in front of her.

"No," He said calmly.

"Now."

"No."

"Going to rape me again," She said shoving his previous action in his face before she could stop her words and saw him pale horribly.

He waved his hand and her bindings fell away from her but didn't move, she realized her mistake as he turned from her completely.

"Severus, I'm sor—" She began but stopped when he whirled on her and she saw the anger and hurt in his eyes.

"Get out of my classroom Miss Granger, before I make you get out." He said in a voice that was laced with quiet hurt. She felt tears well in her eyes as she turned to leave the room but before she walked through the door she looked back and said quietly, "I'm sorry Severus, my heart keeps getting hurt by you so my head gets in the way. I suppose that's what I get for trying to love an unlovable man." She left the room oblivious to the man inside the room that had turned and tried to call her name but found his throat blocked with emotions.

**A/N: Short chapter because I'm crazy tired and can't keep my eyes open anymore. Plus I'm pretty sure my son just peed on my CD collection, oh the fun of parenting. Ah well, review please and let me know what you think.**


	13. Putting Aside Pride

A/N: Still no flames? Guys, I love you. All of you. Truly.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Over the next three days the entire castle noticed a change in their head girl as well as their Potions Master though no one knew the cause; and no one knew that they were related to each other.

Hermione's heart was still hurting from the repetitive blows it had received from Severus, she desperately wanted to go talk to him, to make up, but her pride was too big and her heart too squashed.

Severus' was struggling with the emotions he was feeling because he had never felt them before. Part of him wanted to place his hands around the girl's scrawny neck and kill her; the other part of him wanted to just swallow his pride and grovel at her feet. Of course his pride was winning out so he maintained his cold exterior with her and took points for the smallest reasons.

Minerva had had enough, her head girl was acting like a first year and her Potions Master was acting worse than that. They were both snapping at everyone and very short tempered; it had to stop.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~DM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Draco stormed out of his and Hermione's shared dormitory after yet another argument with her and walked down to Severus' quarters. He blasted into his godfather's room to see him standing in just a towel staring at him in outrage.

"GET OUT!" He roared at the blonde but Draco just glared at him.

"No. You are going to sit your scrawny death eater ass on that sofa and listen to what I'm going to tell you because Merlin's left arsecheek if you don't." Draco said pulling his wand on the man threateningly.

The older man stared at him for a moment before dropping onto the sofa muttering about kids' having no respect these days. "Talk fast." He growled.

"I don't know what has happened between you and Hermione, oh do shut your mouth before something shits in there, I know all about you two so shut it." Draco snapped as he saw the man open his mouth, he waited until he snapped his mouth shut before he continued. "She has told me what happened, her side anyhow, but I don't care about who is right and who is wrong. YOU are going to go to her, and YOU are going to apologize. You near raped her and now you've shoved her aside treating her as though she is no different than a knockturn alley whore. So you get your pigheaded arse dressed and up to her dormitory or else I will force you up there myself."

Severus looked at his godson with his mouth hanging open in shock and outrage. How dare he come down here and demand I apologize to that-that-that brat.

"I will do no such thing," Severus began but broke off when Draco walked forward and shoved his wand almost up his nose.

"Oh yes you will, have you even seen her in the last four days? Have you looked at her? She isn't eating, her eyes are permanently red and puffy because everything and I mean everything, causes her to burst into tears. Meanwhile you, are a royal jackass to everyone most especially her. She hasn't slept probably in two days and if something doesn't change soon one of you are going to be killed by the occupants of this castle and I don't think it will be her. So, I repeat, take your ass up to her room and grovel until you knees hurt and don't even think about coming out until you've worked it out." Draco snarled into Severus' face making. "NOW!" Draco roared in a very good impression of the man sitting in front of him.

Severus grumbled as he buttoned his teaching robes back up, the only reason why he was doing this is because he WANTED to. He stormed out of his quarters leaving a smugly smirking Draco behind him.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Hermione was laying on her bed trying to read but the tears in her eyes were making it hard to see the page so she gave up. She felt like crawling into a hole and crying or dying; one of the two and either one would work. She heard a knock on her door and expecting Draco she didn't throw on any clothes just walked blindly over to the door and opened in.

"Listen Draco, I'm fine, really. Quit worrying about m-" Hermione broke off finally looking to see who was at her door and she found herself staring into the black eyes of her lover. "What are you doing—" Hermione's words were cut off as Severus placed his hand behind her head and brought his lips gently down to hers. She fought for a moment but gave up when she couldn't think of a reason to fight him; she returned his kiss softly running her hands up his chest and into his soft, black hair. She marveled again at the fact that a death eater, no a man, her man, had such soft hair. She pulled away from the kiss to look into his eyes, "Why are you here?"

He kissed her forehead and pulled her into him arms whispering, "I'm sorry." She felt tears well in her eyes at his words because he wasn't a man who said those words without being sincere.

"How could you think that I would ever want anyone else when I have you?" She said cutting straight to the root of the problem.

He sighed as he walked over to her bed sitting down on it and pulled her next to him so they were sitting side-by-side. "I've only had one type of relationship where I had to think about the other person's feelings, that was Lily Potter. She was a friend that I met before my Hogwarts days so by the time we entered Hogwarts, we were very close. She got sorted into Gryffindor and I into Slytherin, so our days of hanging out all the time quickly dwindled. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Petigrew were also in Gryffindor which meant that they saw her very often. James and I instantly hated each other for reasons I still don't understand and because Sirius was James' best friend, he joined in on hating me too. The next 5 years passed in our fighting all the time, curses, hexes, names, the types of things boys do. Lily and I's friendship ended in 5th year when, in a moment of anger, I called her a 'mudblood'. Yes, that is why I despise the word, it's a word that was said in a moment of anger but lost me a lifetime friendship. I haven't had to think about dating because for the last 20 years I've been holding onto her memory, clinging to it like a lifeline. I'm not sure how to handle emotions or situations where I have to think about how another person might feel about my actions. It's very new and unsettling." He finished this explanation not looking at Hermione until she stood before him and forced him to look up at her.

"If she decided to not be your friend because of something you said in a moment of anger, she wasn't a friend in the first place. You may not like Harry or Ron but there have been many times we've fought, but they're still my best friends." She leaned down to put her lips on his firmly. She flicked her tongue out to taste his lip and felt her heart hammer in her chest when he opened his mouth for her, dueling her tongue with his own. They stayed glued at the lips until they had to pull away for air and he stood to leave but when she placed her hand on his wrist he stopped to look at her.

"Please… Please stay. I-I want-" She said trying to get the guts to say what she wanted but he seemed to know without being told so he pulled off his outer robed then laid on her bed. She smiled hugely and lay next to him, cuddling into his side as though they hadn't fought at all. She looked up at him and saw him staring at her with hidden desire in his eyes; she instantly felt a surge of desire shoot through her at his hot gaze and she leaned up to capture his lips in a kiss. He pulled her on top of him so that she was lying on top of him and gently rubbed her back with his hands not taking his mouth from hers.

Hermione spread her legs so that they landed on either side of his hips as she pulled from their kiss to make her way to his shirt clad chest. She glanced up at him briefly before she began to undo his buttons on his shirt, then pushing it aside when she reached the bottom. She kissed and licked her way down his chest, running her tongue over his nipple and smiling widely when she heard him suck in a quick breath. She gently bit down on his hardened tip and felt herself grow wet between her legs when his hand dug into her arms slightly. She left his nipples to kiss down towards his trousers stopping to run her tongue around his belly button looking up when she heard him give a little chuckle.

When she arrived at his waistband she undid his belt and unzipped his pants making it easier for her to pull his already rampant erection free. It sprang out of its bindings looking much like a solider standing at attention waiting for her. She licked the head softly and heard Severus' moan above her so she slid her tongue alone the slit before kissing down his length. She kissed back up and held her mouth opened poised over his purpled head.

"Do it, now." He urged impatiently, wondering if he would come simply from her hot breath on his sensitive head but he threw his head back when her lips closed over his tip sucking him into her warm mouth. He groaned out loud as his penis nudged the back of her throat and closed his eyes tightly when she sucked her way back up, focusing on his head for a few sucks before repeating the process. He clenched to sheet in his hands as the sensations almost became too much. Just when he thought that he could cum right then she pulled off him and looked at him with slightly swollen lips. He leaned up to kiss her and tasted his precum on her tongue. He got up from his position to push her down on the bed where he had been laying.

Hermione lay back on the bed and accepted his lips when he brought his to hers. He kissed her thoroughly for what seemed like an eternity while his hands roved over her body. She had been wearing only a sports bra and boy shorts when she answered the door so he had an easier time undressing her than she had. His hands made quick work of her bra, pulling it off and breaking their kiss to lower his head to her luscious breasts. His tongue drew a line around her tightened bud before taking it between his teeth and running his tongue over it quickly. She arched her back into his mouth wondering if it was possible to die from pleasure. When his treatment of her breast became almost painful he switched to the other breast making sure to give it the same treatment. After he was satisfied that her breasts had been paid their dues he kissed down towards her hot core but kissed straight over it and down to her thighs. She growled in frustration as he skipped the place that was throbbing for his attention.

"Severus, please. Please." She said, not caring that she was begging.

"Please what?"

"I want you; I want your hands there, please!" She said urgently.

When his fingers finally touched her wet lips she bucked her hips against his hand trying to get the friction she so wanted but he moved his hand away until she calmed again. He pushed her legs father apart and wrapped his arms around her thighs to put his hands on the top of her sex. He pulled her lips apart and looked at her sopping slit before leaning forward to gently run his tongue from the top to the bottom. When his tongue reached her entrance her slipped his tongue into her tight hole to catch some of the moisture that had been caught there. He took his time, making sure that he tasted every bit of her vaginal lips and she was whimpering his name. He focused his attention on her engorged clit and licked over it quickly and then pulled it into his mouth to suck on it gently.

Hermione felt her muscles tense up as pleasure shot up from her swollen clit and as his tongue caught expectant clit for a last time she shattered completely moaning his name as her body spasmed in her climax. She looked up in surprise when she felt his blunt head nudging her entrance and clenched her fists when he pushed into her still sensitive opening. She met his eyes and saw the worry there but smiled up at him to reassure him as he continued to enter her inch by inch. Finally when he was fully seated in her, bumping again her cervix gently, did he stop and lean down to kiss her. She clenched her muscles around him reflexively and he jerked his hips against her with a groan into her mouth.

Severus leaned back and looked at the desire ridden woman beneath him and felt his heart burst with affection for her. He pulled his hips back then jerked them forward into her tight passage feeling her slick walls cradle him like a glove. He hissed through his teeth when her walls seemed to squeeze him even tighter though it didn't seem possible.

"You are so tight," He said in a husky voice.

Hermione was so close to her orgasm that his voice just added fuel to the already hot fire in the pit of her stomach. When he reached between them to stroke her clit her nails dug into his shoulders adding pain to his pleasure.

"Cum for me witch, I want to feel you and looking into your eyes as you come apart because of me." He rasped out.

That was all it took for Hermione to fly apart, her walls tightened rhythmically pulling his release from him as well. He thrust forward hard once more before emptying himself deep into her body. He whispered her name over and over as his sperm was ripped from his body for what seemed like forever. When his orgasm stopped he still had tremors going through his limbs and felt almost numb.

"I love you," She said to him sleepily as he pulled from her hot body to lay behind her. He looked down at her to reply but saw that she had already fallen fast asleep.

Severus summoned a blanket to cover them with and with the knowledge that tomorrow was Sunday, his witch loved him, and he might love her too; he fell into a deeply sated sleep. The two were oblivious to the orange eyes that were watching them sleep. The tabby cat that had been sitting on the girl's wardrobe out of sight jumped down gently to the floor and exited the room with its whiskers twitching smugly.

**A/N: Alright, there you have it. The making up that we've all been waiting for. Reviews please. **


	14. Love Me Back

A/N: Not mine, don't own anything.

Severus woke slowly the next morning due to the long night he had had before. He looked around his surroundings and felt his heart sink when he saw that he was alone in Hermione's room. He scowled angrily and got out of bed reaching for his clothes but stopped when Hermione suddenly walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel with her hair dripping down her back.

"Good morning," She said sleepily walking over to the bed to lie back down. She watched him until he walked over to the bed and lay down next to her. "Can I ask a question?"

Severus smirked, "Like if I say no you'll stop."

"What-what are we? I mean, what's our relationship? Do we just get together and have sex or—" She asked uncertainly waiting for his answer.

Severus knew that the question was going to come up but he still wasn't expecting it now because he didn't have an answer. "I am unsure," He answered honestly.

"Right, okay." Hermione said trying to keep the heat from her voice but at Severus' look she knew that she had failed. "Well thank you for a wonderful night, you were amazing as always." Her voice was heated and full of resentment. She felt cheap, used, and almost like she had gotten her hopes up for nothing but then again this was Snape, what had she expected. "I'm hungry, I'm going to breakfast, and you're welcome to use the shower."

"Hermione, wait-" Severus started but his witch had already left the room. He felt confused again at her attitude but understood slightly what she was feeling. He sighed and got out of bed walking to the bathroom to use her shower before dressing and going to breakfast as well.

By the time he entered the hall Hermione had already cleared her plate and was waiting for Ginny to finish. She was staring across the hall at Draco again and not for the first time he wondered if they were communicating silently. He felt his jealousy get piqued again at the heatedness of their faces and the jealous increased when he saw Hermione's face light up with her smile. The redhead next to her stood and pulled her off the bench just as Draco stood to walk over to them. The three linked arms and walked out of the hall. It was then when he saw a familiar flash of black hair and got up to go investigate.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HG~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Hermione, Ginny, and Draco walked out of the hall to see Ron and Harry standing by the double doors. Ginny squealed and ran over to Harry launching herself into his arms; he caught her and kissed her almost immediately. Hermione walked over to Ron to give him a hug that was only a little awkward, so she pulled away quickly. The boys suggested a walk to the Quidditch Pitch and began to walk out the door; Hermione saw a flash of black and turned to see Severus standing up the corridor staring at her. "You guys go ahead, I don't feel like flying! I'll catch you up later." She called to the retreating backs of her friends then walked back towards Severus. She walked past him but felt his grip on her wrist; she turned around and he looked into her eyes before dragging her off down a side corridor. His hands came up instantly to cup her face and he brought his lips down to hers in a forceful kiss. Hermione was shocked but also pleased she felt herself instantly get wet and rubbed her legs together. He seemed to know what she wanted because he grabbed her waist and lifted her against one of the window ledges. If anyone had been outside looking at the window it would've merely looked like she was sitting on the ledge. He reached up her skirt to pull down her knickers but found that she wasn't wearing any.

"15 points from Gryffindor, for no knickers," Severus said huskily as his fingers came into contact with her slickened lower lips. Her hands brushed against his raging erection and he groaned into her mouth; he slapped her hands away to reach down and undo his zipper freeing his weeping penis. He grabbed himself in his hand and guided his blunt head to her opening; he slid in slowly gripping her hips tightly in his hands as he pumped his hips. Once he was seated firmly in her tight body he leaned down to gently bit her shoulder through her shirt.

Hermione dropped her head back against the window frame as he began to move in a way that would bring them both to quick climaxes. She didn't think she would ever stop being amazed at the way he filled her perfectly. His throbbing penis spread her walls deliciously and he bumped against her cervix every time he entered her. She felt herself getting close to her release and she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning. He must have understood because he caught her lips in a kiss as his hand went down to flutter his finger over her swollen clit. She moaned his name into his mouth as she flew apart around him. He felt her walls clench around him and he quickened his pace as he neared his own release. He thrust in once, twice, three times and then emptied himself deep into her body, he had to keep from letting a primal sound escaping his mouth and was thankful for her mouth on his.

He withdrew from her and adjusted his clothing while she jumped down from the sill standing on slightly wobbling legs.

She leaned up to kiss him just as she heard, "Hermione! What the bloody hell are you doing?" They jerked apart to see a very red faced Ron Weasley, and a pale faced Harry Potter standing in front of Ginny and Draco. "Were you just kissing that greasy git?" Ron said accusingly walking towards her while pulling his wand out.

"Put your wand away Mister Weasley, before I curse you," Severus growled at the redhead.

"Do it, I would love to hex you, you sick bastard," Ron yelled at him.

"Ron stop, just stop." Hermione said putting herself between Severus and her furious best friend.

"Hermione, what are you doing with him?" Harry asked walking towards her completely ignoring Ron.

"I-i-I love-love him Harry," Hermione admitted to him not paying attention to her lover's reaction or the redheads.

Hermione saw Ron start a hex out of the corner of her eye and she jumped in front of Severus; she waved her hand and put a shield up around herself and Severus. Ron seemed to realize what he had done as she stalked towards him. "Ronald Weasley, how dare you! How dare you try to hex me or a Hogwarts Professor? You may not like him but I do and if you can't accept that then you need to just leave." Hermione snarled at the boy absolutely incensed that he had tried to hex Severus. He had the good sense to look ashamed at her reproachful tone but he rallied quickly.

"How can you be with _him _Hermione? You broke up with me so what? You could fuck your Professor?" Ron screamed at her.

"We broke up Ronald because we would have never worked, ever. You and I are just too different in what we want." She said to him trying to reason with him.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever." Ron said before turning and walking away.

Hermione looked at the pale faced Harry that was glancing between her and the man walking away. She was sure that he was going to walk away until he walked forward and stuck out his hand to Severus.

Severus looked taken aback by the younger man's actions but he grabbed his hand anyway. "I may not like you Snape, and I may not approve of Hermione's reasons for choosing you; but she did choose you. If she loves you then she does, and I support her." Harry walked over to Hermione and kissed her head then followed his redheaded friend down the corridor dragging Ginny with him.

Draco looked between the two with a wide grin then waved as he walked away leaving Hermione and Severus alone again. He was shocked that she had defended him against her friends and even blocked him from getting hit by a hex. He looked down at her, "You love me?" he asked sounding surprised.

Hermione looked up at him blushing before nodding her head at his question. He bent his head to gently kiss her lips and whispered, "I love you too, Hermione."

**A/N: Just the epilogue left on this story because I'm getting in over my head with schooling and just started another story To Love a Spy. Sorry if you wanted another long story but this one wasn't meant to be a long one. It was just something I thought of with the help of Laurielove's Out of the Depths. **


	15. The End

_**A/N: The long awaited epilogue that you've been waiting for. I know, I know, I'm a horrible person for leaving you waiting but forgive me. **_

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HGSS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**12 years later**

"Dad!" Severus bolted upright in bed as a small figure jumped directly on his stomach. He gave an 'oomf' of pain when a tiny knee connected with his "family jewels". He looked down through watery eyes at his youngest daughter, Millie Anne who had just turned 3. She was beautiful even at 3, she had long curly black hair that almost looked blue and huge brown eyes that seemed to fill with tears whenever she didn't get her way.

"Hi dada, you bein leazy 'gain?" Millie said as she sat on his lap.

"It's hardly being lazy when it's barely the crack of dawn," He said grumpily. Anyone on the outside would think that he hated his children but in actuality he loved them more than anything else. He extracted him from the bed and walked towards the bathroom but giggling stopped him. He turned around to see Millie's twin Minnie standing in the doorway giggling. "Oh, and what is so funny may I ask?"

"You gots scratches on your back dada, did Crooksy attack you?" He kept his face perfectly straight as he continued towards the bathroom. He knew exactly where his scratches were from and he was going to have a talk with his dear wife about them.

He walked out of the bathroom and saw his bed deserted so he walked out of his bedroom into the sitting room. He could hear laughter coming from the kitchen so he headed there and stopped at the doorway. There was his family; Minnie and Millie his two girls both aged 3, James Tobias aged 5 who favored his father in every single way, even the nose, Jean Marie aged 9 who favored her mother in every way. Then there was his wife, she was a saint, she was standing at the stove cooking eggs and bacon while she sang along with the radio next to her.

He walked up behind her and placed his hands on her growing belly. They had agreed when Jean was born that one was enough, but then his wife started missing having a baby around so James entered the picture; two, two was enough they said. But a late night and some fire whiskey meant that 9 months later Minnie and Millie came along, now four was enough; until she came to him one night with tear-filled eyes holding a muggle pregnancy test and apologizing repeatedly. He had simply taken her in his arms and held her telling her they would be alright. They weren't rich by any means but they had the things they needed and wanted without needing to go without. They lived comfortably in a nice house with nice things and they never hurt for money thanks to his wife's amazing budgeting skill. Even with 4 kids, one on the way and two adults they were well cared for. Their kids knew they were loved equally and they never worried about anything.

He kissed his wife's neck then bit down gently, she leaned against him and said, "I love you Severus."

Even after all these years he still smiled when he heard her say those three words because he couldn't believe that he had gotten do lucky. "I love you too Hermione." He whispered in her ear and felt tears well in his eyes as his child in her belly gave a hard kick against his hand. Yes, he was lucky, very luck indeed.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FINISH~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_**A/N: There you have if folks, a short but effective epilogue. **_


End file.
